The NFL Conference Championships lived up to the hype. The weekend consisted of two marquee matchups between the four best teams this year. There were many storylines coming into the games, and it set up what looks to be a Super Bowl for the ages. Who can you expect to see in Tampa Bay on February 7th? 

In the NFC, the 1-seed Packers, led by soon to be 3-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, hosted the game in snowy Lambeau field. The Packers had dominated all year, and sailed to the conference championship with a win over the hobbled Rams.

The visitors were the 5 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by the legendary Tom Brady. This was Brady’s first year as a Buc, and he returned to his winning ways immediately, leading the team past the Washington Football Team in the wildcard round. The divisional round saw Brady and the Bucs take down Drew Brees and the NFC South champion Saints 30-20.

This highly-anticipated matchup between two greats played out as much. The Bucs opened up a 7-0 lead on their first drive when Mike Evans got past Kevin King, before a 50 yard TD bomb from Rodgers to Valdez-Scantling equalized the game. With one second to go in the half after a Rodgers INT, the score sat at 14-10 in favor of the Bucs. However, on the last play of the half, Kevin King got burned again by Scotty Miller for a 39 yard TD that stunned the home crowd to silence.

Disaster struck again for the Packers as running back Aaron Jones fumbled on the first play of the second half, giving the Bucs a comfortable 28-10 lead. No lead is ever safe with Aaron Rodgers on the field, though.

By the end of the third quarter, the score stood at 28-23 after two masterful drives from Rodgers and co. Throughout the 4th, the Bucs had several chances to close the Packers out, but 3 INTs from Brady kept them in it.

Eventually, Rodgers had the ball down 31-23 with one last drive to go. Rolling down the field, the Pack were set up on a goal to go situation. On a now infamous third and goal, Rodgers tried to force the ball to his stud WR Davante Adams, but the ball fell incomplete. The QB had plenty of open space in front of him, leading to fans and critics alike bemoaning the lost chance to run the ball in.

In a surprising turn of events, coach Lafleur of the Packers elected to kick a field goal instead of going for it on 4th. This decision proved wildly incorrect, as the Bucs were able to run out the clock and get Brady to his 10th Super Bowl appearance. The game also dropped Rodgers’s NFC Championship record to 1-4, a stain on a great legacy. 

In the later game, the AFC Championship was a matchup between the defending champion Chiefs led by young superstar Patrick Mahomes facing off against the Buffalo Bills led by rising talent Josh Allen. Both QBs had MVP-like regular seasons, likely finishing 2nd and 3rd in voting to Aaron Rodgers.

Unfortunately, this game was not nearly as exciting as the NFC counterpart. The Bills jumped out to a 9-0 lead, with their score coming from a Mecole Hardman muffed punt on the Chiefs 1 yard line.

However, the rest of the game was all Chiefs as they jumped to a 21-12 lead before halftime and led 31-15 going into the 4th quarter. The combination of Tyreek Hill (9 catches for 172 yards) and Travis Kelce (13 catches for 118 yards and 2 TDs) proved to be a difference maker for a struggling Buffalo secondary.

Mahomes showed no side effects from his concussion, completing 76% of his passes for 325 yards and 3 scores.

The Chiefs are on to their second consecutive super bowl as a 3.5 point favorite over Brady’s Bucs, but the Bills cannot be discredited. They had an amazing season, and will be back next year on this same stage undoubtedly. 

Tune in next week for a super bowl prediction for the Chiefs vs. the Bucs!