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Aaron Rodgers after blowout loss to Bucs: Packers needed 'a kick in the ass a little bit'

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is trying to find the silver lining in the dark, dark cloud of Sunday’s 38-10 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It wasn’t easy, considering how thoroughly the Packers were outplayed by the Bucs, but Rodgers has managed to find a nugget of positivity in the wreckage of such a big defeat.

“You don’t ever want to lose like this,” Rodgers said via ESPN. “I felt like we needed a little bit of a wake-up call at some point this season because things have been so good and there’s been so much talk maybe outside the building about the ease with which we’re moving the ball on offense and scoring. I think we needed kind of a kick in the ass a little bit.

“There’s a little bit of wake-up to stop feeling ourselves so much and get back to the things that got us to this position. I think this would be, unfortunately but fortunately, something we can really grow from.”

That’s an admirable way to look at it. Rodgers and the Pack got beat fair and square, and all they can do is take what they learned from that loss and apply it to next week. Being 4-1 instead of 5-0 doesn’t erase what they accomplished in those first four wins. If anything, this loss showed their weaknesses in a way that a win may not have.

Aaron Rodgers is sacked by Lavonte David.
Aaron Rodgers hopes that the Packers' blowout loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday helps them get better going forward. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Weaknesses on display

The Packers certainly showed off their weaknesses. Rodgers had an uncharacteristically sloppy game, throwing his first two interceptions of the season — one of them his third career pick six — and getting into it with Ndamukong Suh over some long-held beef. The Bucs’ defense was clicking on all possible cylinders, and the Packers had absolutely no answer for it. Rodgers was routinely pressured and completed 16 of 35 passes for 160 yards and zero touchdowns.

Head coach Matt LaFleur eventually took Rodgers out and let backup quarterback Tim Boyle finish the game. At his postgame news conference, LaFleur also made a reference to the Packers’ collective backside.

“You can never really get comfortable in this league,” LaFleur said via ESPN. “As soon as you get comfortable, you get your butt whipped.”

The Packers absolutely got their butt whipped, but as Rodgers said, it may be just the “kick in the ass” they need.

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