The Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Just one game stands between these two teams and a trip to Super Bowl LV and it’s sure to be a classic as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady face off for the second time this season – and just the fourth time in their tenured histories.
Earlier this season, it was Brady who came out on top as his Buccaneers handed the Packers their first of just three losses all season. Their first game occured back in 2014 when Rodgers got the better of Brady’s Patriots in what would turn out to be a Super Bowl-winning season for the New England organisation. The second match came in 2018 when it was the end of Mike McCarthy’s reign in Green Bay and Brady comfortably beat the Packers 31-17. However, there has never been a playoff match between two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Until this Sunday.
Green Bay Packers (14-3)
Aaron Rodgers is just 1-3 in championship games in his NFL career but will be looking to make it to his second Super Bowl this weekend. Rodgers has been the key to the entire Packers franchise for the last 13 years following Brett Favre’s departure in 2007 but this season has arguably seen him play the best football of his career. Rodgers has thrown for 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions – an absolutely absurd statline and a ratio that no one in history comes close to. He has a pass completion percentage of 70.7%, 9.6 adjusted yards per pass attempt, a 121.1 quarterback rating and Green Bay have 247.81 expected points from their passing offense alone this season – all the highest in the league.
It’s been a clear MVP-standard year for Rodgers – which showed when the Green Bay offense was too much for the best defense in the league in the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday where Rodgers threw for just shy of 300 yards and two touchdowns. His offensive-line completely shut down the most dangerous pass rush in the NFL and were instrumental in allowing their quarterback precious seconds to get the ball across the field. There were multiple instances of Rodgers running around in the pocket, creating space and time due to great blocking from the big men in front of him.
The Packers’ rushing game has also come in handy over the past few weeks – especially last week. Their trio of backs Aaron Jones, A.J Dillon and Jamal Williams rushed for just shy of 200 yards against a strong Rams defense and will be looking to do the same on Sunday. It might be a bit trickier however, since Tampa Bay are the number one ranked defense against the rush – which might force head coach Matt LaFleur to lean more towards his passing game than usual.
Green Bay’s defense hasn’t been entirely terrible either this season. They were ranked 13th in the regular season but managed to hold the Rams to just 244 total yards of offense and sacked quarterback Jared Goff four times. They have only managed 18 takeaways this season – which is the seventh-lowest total in the NFL but will look toward their pass rush game to try and shut down Tom Brady and Tampa Bay rather than their secondary.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-5)
In Tom Brady’s first season in Tampa, he’s shown that he hasn’t lost any of his magic that he dished around so well when playing in New England under Bill Belichick. He’s managed to take them to their first NFC Championship game since 2002, but this is Brady’s 14th of his career.
Tampa Bay are the number three ranked offense in the entire league with Brady throwing for over 4,600 passing yards and 42 touchdowns – the second highest totals in the league. Last week against the New Orleans Saints, Brady completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns, throwing to eight different receivers. He also managed to score the team’s only rushing touchdown of the day.
Whilst one might say Rodgers has been the better quarterback this season, the Packers have relied much less on their passing game than Tampa Bay – whos rushing offense ranks just 26th in the league. Both Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones had very similar nights – Fournette rushing for 63 yards from 17 carries and Jones rushing for 62 from 13 carries.
However, it was the Buccaneers defence that showed up against the Saints and made the difference – cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting set the tone for the game when he nearly took Drew Brees’ first interception of the postseason back for a touchdown and the Buccaneers defense would keep forcing turnovers. Two more interceptions – one from linebacker Devin White in the 4th quarter and it was a bobbled interception for Mike Edwards in the dying minutes of the game that sealed the victory for Tampa Bay.
They’ll need to perform the way they did against the Saints to have a chance at stopping the Packers on Sunday – the 6th-ranked defense in the NFL will need to do better in defending the pass, as they’re ranked just 22nd in the league in pass defense whilst they are the best at stopping the run game.
Prediction:
For me, the Packers are the favourites going into this one. I think their passing game is too strong for the Buccaneers defense – they had three interceptions against Drew Brees on Sunday, but Aaron Rodgers has only thrown for five all season. I think their pass rush will be shut down much like the Rams’ was but if they want to beat the Packers, they need to outscore them and be almost perfect on offense.
Brady will need to have another magical game to come out of this one with a win. I don’t think it’ll happen though. Rodgers will take the Packers to their sixth Super Bowl game in what is sure to be a classic game.
Green Bay Packers 35-21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
