On Sunday, the Packers defeated the Buccaneers and left Tampa Bay with a victory. They may credit the video board at Raymond James Stadium for it. With just 14 seconds left, Tom Brady’s touchdown pass to Russell Gage brought the Buccaneers within two points, but a delay-of-game penalty on the next, unsuccessful two-point attempt caused them to lose five yards. After the game, Aaron Rodgers made a suggestion that Tampa Bay might not have received a penalty at all if it weren’t for him.
“Well they showed it on the previous play, too,” Rodgers said on the Fox broadcast. “It was a delay on both plays. Sometimes you see things in the game. Sometimes the Jumbotron shows things they probably shouldn’t show, even at home. I saw something, (and) I just passed on the information.”
For what it’s worth, the Bucs’ score, a one-yard pass from Brady to Gage that reduced the Packers’ advantage from 14-6, did not incur a delay of game penalty. However, Rodgers appears to have seen the uncalled offense and either informed a team official or directly addressed the officials.
However, the TV broadcast made it plain that the two-point attempt would be delayed, making it difficult to determine whether Rodgers actually had any input into the decision.
In any case, on Tampa Bay’s final offensive play, from the 7-yard line instead of the 2-yard line due to the penalty, Brady was unable to connect with Gage once more, and the Packers won the game.7
When questioned about what went wrong, Brady only blamed the Buccaneers’ performance on “poor execution.” He added that this season, his team has yet to find a true offensive groove, making late-game drives more significant than they should be.
