GREEN BAY – As the Packers look to get back on track Sunday in Tampa, they'll be trying to do so in a place that isn't normally kind to them.
And that's putting it mildly.
Raymond James Stadium opened 28 years ago, and the Packers have played 11 games against the Buccaneers there, winning only three.
Green Bay quarterbacks Brett Favre (1-5) and Aaron Rodgers (2-3) both posted losing records in the shadow of that big pirate ship, and now it's Jordan Love's turn to make his first start in Tampa.
Just how bad has it been down there? A veritable house of horrors when you consider …
… the weirdness of the Packers' first two games.
In Green Bay's initial appearance in the stadium's first season, 1998, Favre was sacked eight times and fumbled six times (somehow losing only one) in a 24-22 loss.
The following year, the Packers managed just 12 rushing yards, eight of them by Favre, as Dorsey Levens was held to four yards on 10 carries with a fumble in a 29-10 defeat.
Then all the injuries that have occurred.
Favre couldn't finish the game in 2000 due to an ankle/foot injury that left him in a walking boot afterward. Backup QB Matt Hasselbeck threw a TD pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Packers the lead, but they still fell, 20-15.
Left tackle Chad Clifton's career nearly ended in 2002 due to a nasty blindside hit from Warren Sapp on an interception return, one of four picks Favre threw that day in a 21-7 loss. Clifton's pelvis was severely damaged and he was bedridden for weeks. The NFL has since made that type of block illegal, but that didn't help Clifton power through a long recovery that fortunately saw him return to the field the following year and play nine more seasons.
Rodgers hurt his shoulder in 2008 when diving for a first down and lunging with his arm outstretched to reach the marker. He stayed in the game but eventually was pulled for Matt Flynn after throwing his third INT late in a 30-21 defeat that wasted a pick-six by Charles Woodson.
Rodgers, who often complained about the softness of the stadium's turf, infamously injured his calf in 2014 during a 20-3 victory. He reaggravated the injury the following week in the regular-season finale against the Lions with the Packers fighting for a first-round playoff bye, leaving the game and then returning to secure the win. But the calf injury lingered throughout that year's postseason run, which fell agonizingly short of the Super Bowl.
And the pick-sixes that have been thrown.
On the first play of the second quarter in a scoreless game in 2001, the Packers had first-and-goal from the 6-yard line when Favre threw an INT that was returned 98 yards for a TD. It was Favre's second of three picks on the day in a 14-10 defeat.
Rodgers threw only four pick-sixes as Packers QB, two of them at Lambeau Field. The other two both came at Raymond James Stadium, the first on the final play in 2009 to cap a 38-28 loss in Week 8 to a previously winless Bucs team starting rookie QB Josh Freeman for the first time. The game featured Tampa Bay blocking a punt for a touchdown and Rodgers throwing three INTs in all. On top of the 2008 loss, Rodgers threw three INTs in each of his first two games in Tampa and threw three INTs in a game only one other time in his first nine years as a starter (2008 at New Orleans).
The other pick-six came in 2020 with a sparse Covid crowd. The Packers were 4-0 and had an early 10-0 lead when a 32-yard pick-six jump-started a 28-point second quarter for the Bucs, who scored 38 unanswered points in all in what turned into a blowout.
So what's the good news?
Well, Favre was eventually able to overcome his demons in Raymond James, leading the Packers to a victory in 2003 after five straight losses there. With the game tied at 13 late in the third quarter, Favre engineered a 17-play, 98-yard TD drive that consumed 9:42 off the clock, and the 20-13 lead held up thanks to a pair of three-and-outs plus an interception by Green Bay's defense down the stretch.
The Packers also won in their most recent appearance in Tampa back in 2022. A 14-3 lead was slipping away as the home team kicked a field goal and then Bucs QB Tom Brady drove their offense 89 yards for a score with 14 seconds left to make it 14-12. But Packers LB De'Vondre Campbell broke up Brady's two-point pass and Green Bay hung on.
It would be great if that was the start of a new trend in Tampa, where the Packers have never won two in a row.
Still, there's a lot of history for Love & Co. to overcome while in the midst of their own transition along the offensive line to get this season headed in the right direction.
Maybe a change of fortune in Tampa will signal a similar shift for 2026.
