All three phases of the game -- offense, defense and special teams -- found a way to contribute to the Green Bay Packers' overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Defense, even more so, has been at the heart of much criticism this season as well as seasons prior. It's become a mantra amongst fans even as far back as the 2013 playoffs when ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick ran all over a Dom Capers-coached Green Bay defense.

Those times are long gone, but ever since, the Packers haven't been able to bask in too many dominant defensive performances. However, on Sunday, they were able to relish that seemingly foreign feeling.

Behind seven sacks -- 3.5 from linebackers Clay Matthews and Jake Ryan and 3.5 from defensive linemen Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry and Mike Daniels -- the Packers were able to keep consistent pressure on Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for the duration of the game.

"It keeps our hopes alive," said Matthews after the game. "We understood very much where we're at in the season and, unfortuantely, we put ourselves in this situation. We recognize it as a five-game season with a playoff mentality, similar to last year, and we had to get this win."

Matthews recorded his highest sack total in a single game since week 16 of the 2014 season -- also against the Buccaneers.

Matthews missed the Packers' last game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a groin injury and was questionable to play against the Buccaneers. Judging by his performance, he ended up being just fine.

"I felt good. Coming off of a muscle strain always offers a little hesitancy to really cut it loose, especially as a pass rusher fighting with guys that are 300-plus pounds. I was able to do a lot of things that I wanted to.

"Furthermore, it was good to see guys like [Kenny] Clark back out there making plays."

Clark was returning from an injury of his own -- an MCL sprain suffered the same week Matthews suffered his groin injury: week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. Miraculously, he was able to play and notched two sacks to his name.

Clark had been a staple in the Packers' run defense this season, and although Buccaneers running back Peyton Barber rushed for over 100 yards on Sunday, that can likely be attributed to short offensive possessions that hindered the Packers' defense in the second half.

Defensive lineman Dean Lowry's pressure helped bolster the Packers' pass rush as well, and he even caught a Winston fumble and returned it for a touchdown in the second quarter. He pieced together his own finest career performance at just the perfect time as the Packers continue the fight to stay relevant through December.

A good way of doing that is coming one sack shy of tying the second-most in a single game in franchise history. The last time the Packers recorded eight sacks in a single game was against the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993, and 14 years later, they were knocking on the door.

"They got a lot of their yardage on a lot of screens, we didn't do a good enough job of shutting that down," Matthews said. "But we did a good job of getting after them, for the most part. Constantly being harassed back there has to impact the quarterback and make him second-guess at times."