This is the moment that we have waited for all season long. In a year and season that has created large amounts of hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic sports seemed like an afterthought in the daily activities of our lives, but eventually we got back to “normal”. Now things may not be exactly normal as we are still fighting every single day to defeat this pandemic, but slowly thing are getting better and better. One of the moments that prove this is that we have sports back.
Now in the grand scheme of things, sports may not seem that important, but in a year (2020) and the foreseeable future where we will have to adjust to the “new world”, sports have helped bring a bit of tranquility back to the people. Sports have always been a way to escape the daily pressures of life and allow the people to relax (although it doesn’t always keep the heart rate down) and we have found a way to “defeat” the pandemic in sports for the 2020 season with having the NBA, NHL, and MLB championships, now we are one step closer to finishing the big four 2020 seasons.
When this started last January, we did not know when we would see sports back in action, and how they would look when they did get back in action. We now have evidence of what has happened and the NFL, though did suffer through their hardships, have found a way to have a relatively safe season which has carried us to where we are now.
Two more weeks until we get to the Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL and they have announced that they will be allowing 22,000 fans to be in attendance, including 7,500 health care workers who were provided free tickets for the game. This is the least the NFL could do for all of these front-line workers, now the only question is which teams are we going to see vying for the Lombardi trophy?
In the AFC we have the top seeded Kansas City Chiefs hosting the two seed Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship, but the topic of this piece will be in the NFC Championship which sees the top seeded Green Bay Packers hosting the fifth seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
These teams met earlier in the season in Tampa and it worked out well for the home team in that meeting as the Buccaneers took the game 38-10. The Packers are not looking for a repeat of the outcome, but they are looking to have the home team win once again. Like the AFC game in Bills-Chiefs, when these teams met earlier in the season it was early on (week six) and since then both of these teams have changed dramatically.
Out of the four remaining teams we have two young studs at QB facing off against one another (AFC) and we have two old heads looking to reclaim their throne in Aaron Rodgers (Packers) and Tom Brady (Buccaneers). Both of these quarterbacks are only looking to further their legacy with another Super Bowl victory. These two are already future first ballot hall of famers and will be revered as some of the greatest the game has ever seen, but another ring for Rodgers would make a better argument for him being the greatest of all time and on the other side, a win for Brady would only further cement his standing as the greatest QB to ever play the game.
Kickoff: Sunday, Jan. 24 at 3:05 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Spread: Packers -3
Embed from Getty ImagesTampa Bay Buccaneers
At the beginning of the season Tampa Bay, like many other teams, were a team who was attempting to find their identity. The job of finding their identity was harder than it was for most other playoff teams because most other teams knew who they were going to be while Tampa did not. It sounds like a very simple concept, but by not having a real offseason or preseason with a new quarterback while every other playoff team having at least two years with their QB made this transition harder than it needed to be. Sure, Tom Brady is one of the best talents that the game has ever seen but joining a new team along with new players and playbook meant that there was bound to be some learning curves.
That is exactly what we witnessed as well early on, in the first five weeks of the season the offense looked very good in three of their five games and poor in their other two, while their defense looked good in three of their games while poor in their other two. All of that led to the Buccaneers having a record of 3-2 before having the Packers come in at an undefeated 4-0. With the Buccaneers inconsistency at that point the Packers were heavy favorites to win and then we saw the best overall outing by the Bucs. This was the point of the season where the Buccaneers finally clicked on all cylinders and though they had consistency issues later down the road, this is when we saw just how dominant this team could be.
Tampa won the game in blowout fashion while not even having a great offensive game 38-10. Their defense proved how good they can be, and they forced Rodgers to throw two of his five interceptions on the season, this is exactly what we will have to see in order for the Buccaneers to get a “home” Super Bowl game. As stated, the Buccaneers have been inconsistent since that game, but their final weeks of the season has been when they are playing their best on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
In their two playoff games we have seen the offense look great in one game and average in the other while looking great defensively for one game and average the other. At the end of the day defense is what wins you championships and if they can bring their performance from last week where they forced four turnovers by the Saints, they will be in a perfect position to win. It is hard to assume something like that will happen, but they showed they can do it against the Packers so let’s see if they can do it again. In that game they held the Packers to a season low in yards, passing yards, and points. Of course, they would love to do the same thing, but the Packers have been great since that game both offensively and defensively, so it could be very different.
Then on the offensive side we have to see one of two things, either the offense led by Brady being able to march down the field without any help from the defense, or the offense cashing in on opportunities provided to them by their defense. Last week their offense did not play great, but that was in large part because they did not need too due to the forced turnovers. All they needed to do then was just cash in their short-fielded opportunities, which they did enough. Last time they forced two turnovers which gave good field position, but this could be different so this is the game that Brady needs to show how good he really is and lead this offense by assuming the defense will not help.
Defensive help will no doubt make this game much easier to win, but for the offense of Tampa you have to go into this game assuming it will be an offensive battle because if you slack off then Green Bay will turn the tables and destroy you. Tampa has the offense to do this and they have proven they can do it this season, but with a much-improved Packers defense from earlier in the season, let’s see what we get.
Green Bay Packers
The loss to the Buccaneers early in the season was easily the lowest point of the season for the Packers and though they don’t want a similar result as last time, they cannot completely forget about what happened. The way the Buccaneers defense completely dismantled their offense showed that their offense is not invincible, and it is entirely possible to shut them down. Still, if you’re Green Bay, you have the MVP in Aaron Rodgers with numerous weapons around him including one of the best offensive lines in the game.
Rodgers had his worst performance of the year in the first meeting, but you can’t expect that to happen again which is great news for Packers fans. Their offense will no doubt have to play much better if they are going to come away with a win, and it all starts with Rodgers. Teams don’t normally try to rely on zone defense all the time against Rodgers because he usually feasts against that, but the Buccaneers did just that and they put his worse performance of the season. Rodgers will have to read that better this week and there is no doubt in my mind that he will be able to as he is one of the most talented QBs in NFL history. Also, try to keep Carlton Davis in check, don’t allow him to scare you to throw to Devante Adams. Adams is an absolute animal in the passing game, but Davis has emerged into a great corner this year so it should be a great matchup between the two, but Adams has to be a threat.
To go along with the pass, they are going to need the run game to balance out the load, and that is what happened the first meeting, but if their pass offense is going to be down, they will need a superb running game. Aaron Jones is the key there because although the run game did alright in the first meeting, Jones did not. When you take away their passing game and limit their best running back to only 15 yards then you are clearly doing your job. Everything was going wrong for the offense and this game has to be different and I think it will be. The Packers may not have the best offensive outing in the world, but there is no way they have an outing as poor as this one.
However, if they do (even if they don’t) they will need their defense to play like they have in their past seven games. Green Bay has their weakness in defending the run but defending the pass they are usually pretty good. They have not allowed over 300 yards in the pass game one time this season, but they have allowed over 100 rushing yards 11 times this season, including five games over 125. This included their first meeting against Tampa, which they allowed 158 yards on the ground. Expect the Buccaneers to try the same game plan, especially if their defense plays as strong as last time. The best thing for the Packers defensively will be to get their offense going.
Not having their offense working last time is what led the Buccaneers to be able to stay on the ground with the ball which took time off the clock and exposed the weak run d, this week has to be different. If the offense puts points up on the board early, then the Buccaneers will need to get to their passing game in order to keep this a game. This is usually not a concern for Tampa as they have all the pieces, but against Green Bay it is not preferred because the pass d is good at coverage along with their pass rush being one of the better in the league.
While it sounds crazy to challenge the GOAT, force Brady and the Bucs to beat you through the air in an offensive game. The Bucs have the offensive weapons and talent that should keep them involved in every game, but in games where they don’t get that defensive help they simply just don’t perform as well. If the Packers offense can eliminate the Bucs defense as a threat, then you are putting the best part of your defense up against their pass. Don’t get me wrong, they prefer to pass, but they know the run game is a weakness, so they will try to rush early on, but if you get ahead then you can almost eliminate that part of the game and that is what Green Bay needs to do.
Prediction: If we are going off the first meeting between these two teams than it will be a poor offensive outing for the Packers while a great defensive outing for the Buccaneers. If this is the case then the Bucs are almost guaranteed a victory, but it is not often that the MVP is held down and that is what Rodgers is. Rodgers and the Packers offense should play a much better game and though it may not completely shut down the Bucs defense, it should be a contest all game long. The for the Buccaneers offense they have to be able to run the ball because their backs will have an advantage over the Packers defense. If they are forced to pass, they can still clearly win, running the ball will help take time off the clock as well as move the ball down the field. The only way they are going to be able to do that though is if their defense slows down the Packers offense and slowing down the pass of Rodgers is the way to do that. They have showed they can do it once but considering all things and how inconsistent they have been I am not sure if they can do it again.
Score: Packers 31, Buccaneers 23