Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game on Sunday, 31-26, to advance to Super Bowl 55. Later Sunday night, defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs took home the AFC Championship with a 38-24 win over Buffalo Bills, securing a spot in the second consecutive Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 55 is scheduled to be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, making this the first time in Super Bowl History that one of the competing teams will play in their stadium.
The last time a team competing for the NFL championship played in their stadium was in 1966, when the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field, a season before the Super Bowl era began.
Twice in the history of the Super Bowl, teams from California played in the same city as their home field, but in a different location. The Los Angeles Rams, which at the time called the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home, played at the Rose Bowl at Super Bowl 14. The San Francisco 49ers played at Stanford Stadium at Super Bowl 19, but their home games were played at Candlestick Park.
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Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, who has played the New England Patriots for 20 seasons, led Tampa Bay to their first Super Bowl appearance since they won it in 2003. Until this season, that was the only Tampa Bay appearance in the Super Bowl in the history of the franchise. Brady will appear in his 10th Super Bowl, having won six, both high marks for any player in NFL history.
The Buccaneers started well on Sunday, with a 21-10 lead at halftime. The attack was fired in the second half, however, thanks in part to 3 interceptions by Brady. But with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game and facing a fourth fall on the opponent’s 8-yard line, the Packers chose to kick a field goal instead of going for the touchdown, which would put them two points off a tie. They never recovered the ball, as Bucs’ attack had two more first casualties in possession.
“It’s been a great journey so far,” said Brady after Sunday’s game. “We put the work into that. The guys just embraced everything, really, when [head coach Bruce Arians] I arrived here last year. Many good things were happening, many excellent young players. I just made a decision. I love coming to work every day with this group of guys. ”
Brady will face Patrick Mahomes, who won the Super Bowl MVP title after leading the Chiefs in the 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54.
The Chiefs faced a 9-0 deficit at the start of the AFC Championship after a muffled punt gave Buffalo the ball on the 3-yard line. Bills, already with 3 points, scored a touchdown on the first move of the drive, but lost the extra point. After that, the bosses’ attack came back to life, scoring 21 points in the second half, while their defense kept Bills with just three points. The Bills would not score another touchdown until the 4:08 mark of the fourth period.
After an unsuccessful 2-point conversion, Buffalo lost by 17. They managed to recover a side kick, but possession of the next ball only resulted in another field goal, reducing the lead to 14 just over three minutes into the game. . The Chiefs then set up an eight-game drive, including three kneeling, to run out of time and guarantee victory.
Super Bowl 55 is scheduled to be played on Sunday, February 7 and will air on CBS.
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