Mark Tauscher started at RT on Sunday, but left the game early in the third quarter with a knee injury.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy talked during the week about employing a rotation at the offensive tackle positions with veterans Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher both returning from injuries, which they did in the first half before going with the same five for most of the second half after Tauscher went out with a knee injury.
Tauscher, playing in his first game this season following an ACL injury sustained last season in Week 14 vs. Houston, was injured on the opening drive of the second half when a Tampa Bay defensive lineman fell into the back of his knee on a sack of Aaron Rodgers at Green Bay's 1-yard line.
The injury was to the same knee that Tauscher injured last season, and he did not return after limping off the field. He said the knee will be evaluated further on Monday.
"I think it was probably a smart play not to (go back in)," Tauscher said. "It didn't feel great. Something happened and I'm hoping that it's nothing major."
Tauscher and Clifton both started, giving the Packers their fifth different line combination to open a game this season.
Tauscher played right tackle for the first three series of the game, two of which went for touchdowns, before Allen Barbre began rotating in. Clifton, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, started at left tackle and played most of the first half, with rookie T.J. Lang coming in briefly.
The offensive line had some success in the first half, blocking for Green Bay's 233 yards of offense with no sacks of Rodgers. Running back Ryan Grant rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries (5.5 avg.) as well, and finished the day with 96 yards on 21 carries.
As a team, the Packers rushed for 170 yards on 32 carries (5.3 avg.), their second-highest rushing output of the season.
"I think we did some good things," Tauscher said. "We obviously had a couple of opportunities right before the half to put up some plays that would put some points on the board. Great field position after the turnover (interception by Nick Collins), and we weren't able to capitalize on it."
After not allowing a sack in the first half, the line allowed six in the second, the sixth time this season the Packers have given up four-plus sacks in a game. Green Bay has allowed 37 sacks on the season, topping the mark of 34 given up last season.
"Coach always says it starts with our guys up front, and you don't want your quarterback to get hit at all," wide receiver Donald Driver said. "It's something that we have to look at. It's been an issue, we all know that, but it can be fixed. That's one thing we have to get together on and work on."
Big-play James
After scoring a touchdown only once last season on opening drives, the Packers did it for the second time this season, and in a big way.
After Green Bay's defense forced a three-and-out by Tampa Bay, Rodgers found wide receiver James Jones deep down the right sideline at midfield on the Packers' second play, and Jones took it the rest of the way for a 74-yard touchdown.
Jones' 74-yard reception for the score was the longest touchdown posted on a Packers' opening drive since wide receiver Antonio Freeman's 80-yard reception on Green Bay's first series vs. San Francisco on Nov. 1, 1998.
Ironically, the Packers' only opening-drive score last season also came at Tampa Bay when Rodgers connected with wide receiver Greg Jennings for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Jones finished the day with 103 yards receiving on four catches (25.8 avg.), the first 100-yard game of the season for him and the third of his career. He becomes the fourth player on the Packers to record 100 yards receiving in a game this season, joining Driver, wide receiver Greg Jennings and tight end Jermichael Finley.
The Packers are the first team in the NFL to have four different receivers post 100-yard games this season, and it is the first time a Green Bay quartet accomplished the feat since 1994. That season, wide receivers Sterling Sharpe, Anthony Morgan and Robert Brooks and running back Edgar Bennett all had 100-yard games.
{sportsad300}Coming out OK
Rodgers, who did not practice this week on Wednesday or Thursday because of a sprained foot and a sprained toe on the other foot, said the injuries were not a factor on Sunday.
"They hurt, but definitely I don't think really slowed me too much," Rodgers said. "I got a hit in the hip, which kind of took some of the pain out of my feet, but no, they weren't an issue."
Rodgers rushed three times for 26 yards (8.7 avg.), including a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 28-17 lead. It was the longest touchdown run of his career.
Rodgers entered Sunday's contest with 188 yards rushing on the season, most among NFL quarterbacks. His total of 214 yards on the ground through eight games is the most by a Green Bay quarterback since Brett Favre's 216 in 1993.
Pinning them deep
Kicker Mason Crosby posted three touchbacks on kickoffs Sunday, all in the first half, to match his career high.
Crosby has posted three touchbacks in a game two other times in his career, vs. San Diego (Sept. 23, 2007) and at Detroit (Sept. 14, 2008). He now has eight touchbacks on the season.
Injury/participation update
Other than Tauscher, the only injury the Packers had to report was linebacker Aaron Kampman, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a head injury and did not return.
Green Bay's inactives on Sunday were wide receiver Jake Allen, safety Derrick Martin, fullback Korey Hall, linebacker Brandon Chillar, tackle Breno Giacomini, wide receiver Jordy Nelson, tight end Jermichael Finley and defensive end Jarius Wynn.
