And then there were four. The NFL conference championship weekend will feature the current Super Bowl champions, the presumptuous MVP of the league, a six-time champion with a convincing case of GOAT and an emerging team in Buffalo looking to spoil the party.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills are each playing for a spot in the Super Bowl on February 7. Both games for the AFC and NFC championships will take place on Sunday, January 24, in what promises to be another exciting football weekend.
Patrick Mahomes’ recovery from a potential concussion will be the main storyline of 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 being injured in a QB option. Can the Chiefs still defeat the Bills if Chad Henne has to start in his place?
The NFC game features a titanic quarterback showdown between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Arguably the best two who have done this, both QBs proved their talent at the start of the playoffs. Rodgers is about to receive his third MVP award. A Tampa defense that looked excellent so far is about to face its biggest challenge of the year.
Which team has the best chance of winning everything? We will classify 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, Tampa’s defense ended an attack from New Orleans filled with elite stars. Drew Brees looked ready for his impending retirement, Michael Thomas ended the game without a catch and Alvin Kamara was kept under control. Tampa’s defense had three interceptions and recovered a fumble. They need to be at their best against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Tom Brady’s performance was less convincing. Brady finished 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but mostly had to control the game. He will have to connect in vertical attacks in the field to keep up with Rodgers. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans will need to match for more than the 37 yards they received against the Saints.
To quote a wise man, “Never count out of the Touchdown, Tom.” Tampa has a chance on Sunday at Lambeau, but it would be a big surprise if they managed to overcome the likely freezing temperatures on the road.
3. Buffalo Bills
Although we haven’t yet seen the offensive machine that Buffalo was when the regular season ended at any point in the playoffs, it must be said that the wind was so bad in the victory of the divisional round against the Ravens on Saturday night that Justin Tucker tripled his Number of career playoff miss.
The bills are larger than the sum of their parts and this is because they find a way to dig every week and get the voice acting. It was a shame that Lamar Jackson got hurt before the game was over, and while he still had a few “shitty shit, Lamar is amazing” moves, Bills kept him in check for most of the game.
We were looking forward to seeing the Bills play in an important game and, so far, they are up to the task for two consecutive weeks. It will only get more difficult from here (obviously), but if any team is prepared for the challenge it is her.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes ‘injury casts uncertainty about the Chiefs’ chances of repeating themselves as Super Bowl champions for the first time in the entire season. Mahomes was dealing with the Cleveland Browns in the AFC playoffs Divisional Round when he hit a QB option and was forced into the league’s concussion protocol. Chad Henne came in and made enough moves to avoid Cleveland’s return attempt, but it’s hard to imagine KC winning the Bills if Mahomes can’t make it.
The good news for Kansas City is that its defense looked solid. Tyrann Mathieu intercepted, Daniel Sorensen forced a clutch fumble on the goal line (which should probably have been considered a helmet-to-helmet stroke), and Cleveland accumulated just 308 yards in the afternoon. The defense again will need to be ready for the challenge, regardless of Mahomes’ status.
Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and the rest of the KC game makers remain dangerous even if Henne has to take pictures. The Chiefs have been the Super Bowl favorites all year for a reason. His combination of elite schema from Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy, historic QB game and out-of-game staff seems unparalleled. They just need to make sure that Mahomes is ready to go.
1. Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers is playing at a higher level than any NFL player at the moment. Collectively, the Green Bay Packers will play an NFC championship game at Lambeau Field for the first time since America’s Best Dance Team was on television regularly.
Regardless of anything else, the consistency that we have seen from Green Bay is greater than anything else. They regularly beat teams with authority and for that reason should be seen as the favorites to win the whole damn thing.
Besides, Matt LaFleur kind of never gets any credit. Davante Adams gets a little angry, and occasionally Aaron Jones shows love on his way. On top of all this, the Packers had a good defensive performance on Saturday, given that it was against a Rams team that was not fully defined as a defender.
The point here is that the Packers are incredible and are shooting at all cylinders. Believe them.