1st quarter
Buccaneers 7, Packers 0
NFC Championship
The Buccaneers opened the game with an impressive first shot with quarterback Tom Brady looking balanced, efficient and at ease. Tampa Bay made it look easy by converting situations from three-thirds down, the latter a 15-yard touchdown reception by Mike Evans.
1st and 2nd runs: 6 moves, 10 yards
3rd Bucs descent: 3 moves, 56 yards– ProFootballReference (@pfref) January 24, 2021
At the first opportunity for a third down, the Packers fired and Tom Brady calmly waited in his pocket for wide receiver Mike Evans to launch the downfield. Brady then launched a clear, well-placed pass over the Packers ‘defenders and into Evans’ arms for 27 yards. On the next third down from Tampa Bay, Brady fired a bullet at wide receiver Chris Godwin for 14 yards.
In a third to 7, Evans was slightly open in the left end zone, where Brady, who had perfect protection through possession, again won the cover. The move was 10 moves for 66 yards.
It appears that the snow that was forecast for the surroundings of the Lambeau Field this afternoon has eased just before the start in Green Bay. But the area received more than a layer of snow in the early afternoon. Temperatures for the start are hovering around 28 degrees. And with a wind of almost 10 miles per hour, the thermal sensation is estimated at 21 degrees.
But there is no additional snow in the forecast. This does not mean that it will not snow – after all, it is central Wisconsin. The atmosphere is typical of a January playoff game in Green Bay: players’ breathing is visible when they expire. Most players are wearing gloves and heaters on the sides.
Lambeau Field’s extensive heating system prevented the grass from collecting snow (the field was covered with tarpaulin before the game). And five minutes before the game started at 3:05 pm in the east, the sun came up behind the lingering clouds in the area.
Sunday’s NFC championship is Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ 20th playoff game, which includes a 4-0 0 postseason for the 2010 Super Bowl title. But the Packers record with Rodgers in the center has been mediocre at best since winning the Super Bowl.
The Packers have been 7-7 in the playoffs since 2010, including three defeats in conference league games. While each of the conference games was on the road, the last two, in San Francisco after the 2019 regular season and in Atlanta three years earlier, were bursting. Green Bay also lost the 2014 conference championship game in overtime in Seattle, 28-22.
The Packers also lost in the divisional round three times, at home to the Giants in 2011, in San Francisco in 2012 and in Arizona in 2015, and in the wild card round at home against the 49ers in 2013.
Rodgers is 12-8 overall in the postseason.
Tom Brady at conference championships:
9-4 WL, 18 TD, 14 INT, 6.95 Y / A, rating 83.3Tom Brady at Road Conf. Championships:
3-3 WL, 6 TD, 5 INT, 6.99 Y / A, rating 80.9– ProFootballReference (@pfref) January 24, 2021
Tampa Bay will not have receiver Antonio Brown, who led the team in receiving targets during the last five weeks of the regular season, in the NFC championship game because of a knee injury sustained in the Buccaneers’ victory over New Orleans last Weekend.
“He wasn’t as close as we expected, so let’s get him ready for the next one,” said Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians of Brown, who has been an All-Pro four times for the Pittsburgh Steelers and has played in two league games. of the conference, as well as a Super Bowl. Brown signed a free agent contract with Tampa Bay in late October, after serving an eight-game suspension for the NFL after not challenging the theft and battery charges and receiving two years of probation.
Brown still faces a league investigation into charges in a lawsuit that he sexually abused his former coach in 2017 and 2018. Brown denied the charges.
“Other guys are going to introduce themselves and do the job, I have a lot of confidence in the guys who weren’t there so much when AB was there,” said Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady of Brown, who had 45 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight regular season games.
Rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was also ruled out after testing his ankle injury in warm-up before the game. Winfield played all 18 games and finished with 91 tackles during the regular season, the team’s third largest.
Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans, who leads the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns, is available, but the numbers will be limited by a knee injury.
One of the keys to Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak, which included two road playoff games, was the Buccaneers’ ability to force the turnaround and convert those mistakes into points. In the 2020 postseason, the Buccaneers scored 27 points directly related to five turns – four in a New Orleans Saints turnaround in the divisional round win last weekend.
But, against the Packers, the Tampa Bay defense will face a team that lost 11 turnovers, a low in the league, during the regular season.
“Everyone understands the emphasis on protecting football at all times, especially in the playoffs,” said Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “And as offensive players, we have to know that this is a constant emphasis on defense. Therefore, it is a recognized priority. “
In 16 regular season games and a playoff game, Rodgers launched just five interceptions (and 50 touchdowns).
If they win on Sunday, the Buccaneers will be the first team to play a Super Bowl at their stadium.
Several privateers were asked last week whether they had considered playing at the Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, which is close to the team’s training facilities. Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David said he noticed Super Bowl decorations and banners being added to the stadium on his way to training on Wednesday, which, he said, led to the impact of the game.
The vision of the buccaneers in training this week was about the Super Bowl LV banners that the NFL already adorned at Raymond James Stadium, site of this year’s big game. pic.twitter.com/QPC9rGI475
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 24, 2021
But the Buccaneers’ coach, Bruce Arians, had a different mindset.
“We haven’t played that game this week – that’s the message for everyone,” said Arians. “We played with the Packers in the NFC championship game. If you start thinking about the Super Bowl, you will be beaten and pack on Monday. “
Although no team has ever played a Super Bowl at their stadium, in January 1985 the San Francisco 49ers played Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium, near Palo Alto, California, and in January 1980 the Los Angeles Rams played the Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Green Bay and Tampa Bay met in week 6 of the 2020 regular season, on October 18, with the Buccaneers defeating the Packers 38-10. Green Bay jumped to a 10-0 lead, but the Tampa Bay defense kept quarterback Aaron Rodgers off balance by firing him five times. Things were not much better for Green Bay when it came to the ground game, as Aaron Jones had only 15 yards in 10 races.
Behind the veteran, face Ndamukong Suh and the linebackers Jason Pierre-Paul (a Pro Bowl selection) and newcomer Devin White, the Buccaneers generated tremendous pressure throughout the regular season, defeating the quarterbacks 48 times, drawing with the NFL’s fourth-largest total sack
It was the third time Rodgers and Tom Brady of Tampa Bay have met. In 2018, Brady’s New England Patriots destroyed Green Bay in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 31-17. In 2014, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Packers defeated Brady and New England 26-21.
Sunday’s game will be the first time Rodgers and Brady have met in the playoffs.