Championship Sunday Recap

Super Bowl LV is set as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs punched their tickets to the Tampa. We will have plenty of time to preview the game and matchup, and before we get there, we have to take a look back on how these two teams got there.

NFC Championship Game

(5) Tampa Bay-31 (1) Green Bay-26

1) There is a lot to unpack here in this game. Let's start with the beginning of the game. Tom Brady was lights out in the first half. He led a touchdown drive on the opening drive of the game and hit Mike Evans with a TD pass to make it 7-0. From there, you knew Brady was locked in and this was going to be a game.

2) The game was fun in the first half and it was going back and forth. The Packers tied it up on an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to make it 7-7. The Bucs answered with a Leonard Fournette TD and it was 14-7. The Packers countered with a field goal, and it was 14-10. This has all the makings of a shootout and a classic based on the first half.

3) The key part of the game was near the end of the half. Down 14-10, the Packers were moving the ball near midfield when Rodgers got picked off and Tampa Bay took over. They converted a 4th and 3 on the drive (Ballsy move by Bruce Arians) and then somehow Brady hit Scotty Miller for a 39 yard TD with only 1 second left in the half and take a 21-10 lead into halftime. How in the hell do the Packers give that up? That was so inexcusable and at that point, I thought the Packers were in real, real trouble. 

4) The next sequence that turned the game was on the first drive of the second half, the Packers fumbled and Tampa Bay took over deep in GB territory. Brady hit Cameron Brate for a TD and it was 28-10. At that point, it was going to be hard to see the Packers coming back.

5) Green Bay did rally and Rodgers almost pulled off the comeback. Brady ended up throwing three picks in the second half. The Packers picked off Brady on back-to-back drives but the Packers didn't get a first down either time. After TB extended the lead to 31-23, the Packers drove down to the TB 8 yard line. This is the decision that will haunt the Packers all offseason. On 4th and goal, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFluer decided to kick a field goal and make it 31-26 instead of going for the TD with 2:05 left. I was shocked at the decision at the time and it was the wrong one in my opinion. GB kicked the field goal and Rodgers never got the ball back again. Bad move on LaFleur's part.

6) The Bucs ran out the clock and the big play was when the Packers got called for a pass interference on 3rd and 4 with 1:46 to play in the game. It was definitely an interference call, but the problem was that the officials weren't calling anything all game long and then they made this call in this spot that could have decided the game.

7) This is a bitter defeat for the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. To lose this game at home with their best shot to go to the Super Bowl is a very disappointing outcome for them. Rodgers looked gutted after the game. The Packers got outcoached, outplayed, outschemed in every unit. Rodgers played well but he wasn't great. This loss with sting this franchise for a long time.

8) Give the Bucs credit. I thought they would be a 9-7/10-6 Wild Card team with Brady, but I never thought they would go to the Super Bowl, and I did not think they were going to beat the Packers in Lambeau Field in this game. Give Bruce Arians credit for doing a good job coaching this game and this team with Brady and all the other vets that were brought in. Give Todd Bowles credit for doing a really good job with the defense in this game. The Bucs defense was better than the GB offense and when you have Tom Brady as your QB, you can win any game-no matter what the situation or where it is played. The Bucs head to their second Super Bowl appearance and become the first ever team to play in the host city and their own stadium. 

AFC Championship Game

(1) Kansas City-38 (2) Buffalo-24

1) The Bills had some hope in the beginning when they got a field goal, forced a three and out, and got a fumbled punt inside the five yard line. A TD pass from Josh Allen to Dawson Knox made it 9-0 after the missed PAT, and there was a thought that maybe this could turn the Bills way. From that point, the Chiefs went on a 38-15 run and ran away with the game. Even when you get an early, two-score lead on them, it is just too hard to hold it.

2) Kansas City was just too much for Buffalo. It is the same story with KC every single week. The Bills couldn't stop Travis Kelce and had no answer for Tyreek Hill. Then, when they had them covered, Pat Mahomes makes a great play and keeps the drive alive. Once they got that first TD and were down 9-7, you knew it was going to be hard to stop them.

3) The Bills needed an amazing, Earth-shattering performance by Josh Allen to win this game, and he couldn't pull it off. He didn't play horrible, but he certainly didn't play as good as he needed to in order to pull out this game.

4) This game was pretty boring once the Chiefs took the lead and got in control. The Bills were settling for field goals while the Chiefs were putting up touchdowns. The Chiefs handled the Bills convincingly twice this season-once in October and in this AFC Championship Game. They are just too good for anyone in the AFC at this point.

5) The Bills had a dream season. They won 13 games, won the AFC East, and won a playoff game for the first time since 1995. The gap is still far between them and the Chiefs, but with Josh Allen at the helm, the Bills have to be excited that they will have a chance to make a run next season and beyond.

6) These are salad days for the Chiefs. Andy Reid and Pat Mahomes have put them in elite status in the NFL. They have won their 6th playoff game in the three years that Mahomes has started, and they are heading to their second straight Super Bowl. The Chiefs are looking to become back-to-back Super Bowl champs for the first time since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots.