Can Packers keep up this ugly winning trend? Aaron Rodgers doesn’t think so

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — As the Packers escaped Tampa in a 14-12 win in Week 3, there seemed to be an increased sense of accomplishment even after they won ugly, given the win over Tom Brady and one of the NFL’s best defenses came.

After beating the Patriots in overtime Sunday, 27-24, that sense of accomplishment may have turned to relief as the win came against an inferior defense than Tampa Bay’s and a third-row quarterback in Bailey Zappe .

Green Bay’s offense was pathetic in the first half, the unit’s mediocrity led by back-to-back NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers’ unusually poor 30 minutes. His defense was leaky in the second half, leaky against the run and prone to chunk plays from backend glitches. His special teams were consistently far less strong than they had been in the first three games, particularly on kick and punt returns.

“This is a game we absolutely had to win,” Rodgers said. “I mean, you can’t lose 2-2 to a third-string quarterback and not play great at all three stages. So we had to have this one. That doesn’t detract from the joy of victory, but we had to have it.