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And then there were four. The NFL Conference Championship Weekend will feature the defending Super Bowl champions, the league’s presumptive MVP, a six-time champion with a compelling GOAT case and a down-to-Buffalo team looking to crush celebration.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills will each play for a spot in the Super Bowl on February 7. The AFC and NFC Championship games will take place on Sunday, January 24. promises to be another exciting football weekend.
Patrick Mahomes’ recovery from a potential concussion will be the main storyline in the week leading up to the games. Mahomes left the Chiefs’ game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and entered the league’s concussion protocol after injuring himself on a QB option. Can the Chiefs still beat the Bills if Chad Henne has to start for him?
The NFC game features a titanic quarterback match between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Arguably the two best to do so, both QBs proved their talent early in the playoffs. Rodgers is set to receive his third MVP award. A Tampa defense that has looked formidable so far is about to face its biggest challenge of the year.
Which team has the best chance of winning it all? Let’s rank the teams still standing in the 2021 NFL playoffs.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We’ll start with the good news for the Bucs in their victory over the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round: the defense looked phenomenal. Led by linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David, the Tampa defense ended a New Orleans offense filled with elite playmakers. Drew Brees looked very ready for his impending retirement, Michael Thomas finished the game without a catch, and Alvin Kamara was mostly held in check. The Tampa defense had three interceptions and recovered a fumble. They’ll need to be at their best against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Tom Brady’s performance was less convincing. Brady completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but mostly he had to manage the game. He’ll need to connect on downstream vertical strikes to keep up with Rodgers. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans will need to combine more than the 37 yards they conceded against the Saints.
To quote a wise man, “Never count Touchdown Tom.” Tampa has a chance Sunday at Lambeau, but it would count as a real surprise if they can stir up trouble in the likely freezing temperatures on the road.
3. Buffalo Bills
While we haven’t yet seen the offensive machine Buffalo was when the regular season ended at some point in the playoffs, it has to be said that the wind was so bad when they won the divisional round against the Ravens on Saturday night as Justin Tucker tripled his career loss number in the playoffs.
The bills are greater than the sum of their parts and that’s because they find a way to dig every week and get the doubling. It was a shame that Lamar Jackson got injured before the game was over, and while he still had some “bullshit Lamar is amazing,” the Bills kept him in check for most of the game.
We couldn’t wait to see the Bills play in an important game and so far they have risen to the task two weeks in a row. It’s only going to get more difficult from here (obviously), but if a team is up for the challenge, it’s them.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes ‘injury casts uncertainty over the Chiefs’ chances of repeating themselves as Super Bowl champions for the first time this season. Mahomes was facing the Cleveland Browns in the AFC playoff divisional round when he took a hit on a QB option and was forced into the league’s concussion protocol. Chad Henne came in and made enough plays to prevent Cleveland’s return attempt, but it’s hard to envision KC beating the Bills if Mahomes can’t make it.
The good news for Kansas City is that their defense looked strong. Tyrann Mathieu had an interception, Daniel Sorensen forced a clutch fumble over the goal line (which probably should have been considered a helmet-to-helmet hit), and Cleveland amassed just 308 yards in the post. -midday. The defense will again need to be up for the challenge regardless of Mahomes’ status.
Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and the rest of KC’s playmakers remain dangerous even though Henne has to take some shots. The Chiefs have been Super Bowl favorites all year for a reason. Their combination of Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy’s elite plan, historic QB play, and disruptive staff on the outside feels like unmatched. They just need to make sure Mahomes is ready to go.
1. Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers is playing at a higher level than any player in the NFL right now. Collectively, the Green Bay Packers will play an NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field for the first time since America’s Best Dance Crew was on television regularly.
Regardless of anything else, the consistency that we’ve seen in Green Bay is higher than anyone else. They regularly beat teams with authority and, for that reason, should be seen as the favorites to win it all.
Also, Matt LaFleur never gets any credit. Davante Adams gets it a bit, and sometimes Aaron Jones has shown his love. On top of all that, the Packers had a fine defensive performance on Saturday, considering it was against a Rams team that wasn’t fully fixed on the quarterback.
The point here is that the Packers are amazing and sort of shoot all cylinders. Believe in them.
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