Opinion: Packers' Aaron Rodgers faces fitting challenge for trip to Super Bowl: Beating GOAT Tom Brady
Jarrett BellA quick read on items of interest heading into the AFC and NFC championship gamesâŠ
Whoâs hot: Tom Brady. As unusual as the NFLâs season within a pandemic has been, the sight of TB12 playing for a trip to the Super Bowl offers some normalcy. Well, sort of. This trip is to the NFC title game â and a potential classic showdown against Aaron Rodgers.
Brady's first season with the Bucs has added yet another layer to the GOATâs legacy. After throwing for 40 TDs for just the second time in his career (50, in 2007), heâs advanced to his 14th conference championship game (9-4).
What a fitting challenge for Rodgers: To win a long-awaited second Super Bowl ring, the Packers star first has to get past Brady â the man with six Super Bowl rings who is again hot at the right time. In six games in December and January, Brady has a 16-1 TD-to-INT ratio.
The chemistry and timing issues that plagued the Bucs' offense early in the season have been resolved. No, he canât play defense against hot-in-his-own-right Rodgers in a conventional sense. But he can still try to apply pressure in his own way, which might mean winning a shootout.
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Pressureâs on: Josh Allen. The young Bills quarterback will have a hard enough task in trying to beat Patrick Mahomes on his own turf, with a Super Bowl berth in play. Allenâs had a remarkable season, which is why he emerged in the conversation for MVP honors.
Yet the added pressure now includes Allen triggering an offense where he is essentially the running game. Buffaloâs running backs ran for just 42 yards during the wild-card round against the Colts, when Zack Moss was lost for the remainder of the playoffs. Then backs Devin Singletary and T.J. Yeldon mustered a total of 29 yards in the divisional round against the Ravens. Allen is rugged and mobile. He can extend plays to throw and bolt on designed runs or improvised escapes. But he could use some help from the backs to avoid having to be the running game by himself.
Key matchup: Rodgers vs. Ndamukong Suh. Thereâs some definite history here, dating back to Suhâs years with the Lions as an NFC North rival of the Packers quarterback. Suh was initially suspended for one game (a playoff game) after appearing to intentionally step on Rodgersâ calf in the 2014 regular-season finale that settled the division title at Green Bay.
The suspension was reduced to a fine after Suh contended during the appeal that he didnât realize he had stepped on Rodgers because his feet were frozen. Then there was a 2011 game at Detroit when Suh drew a suspension for stomping on then-Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith.
More recently, Suh drew a roughing-the-passer flag during the Bucs' win in Week 6 that included another round of whatâs become typical trash-talk between the two. Rodgers contended this week that he doesnât expect much conversation on Sunday. But that remains to be seen. With the high stakes, Suh, a key cog in Tampa Bayâs No. 1-ranked run defense and still plenty capable of collapsing the pocket from the inside, will be hell-bent on trying to get the NFLâs likely MVP off his game.
Next man up: Darrel Williams. Although Clyde Edwards-Helaire is expected to return from hip and ankle injuries on Sunday for the Chiefs, there are natural questions about whether the rookie will return to his previous level of effectiveness â if he holds up. Williams, the third-year pro, is ready in the bullpen. He got the nod over LeâVeon Bell last weekend and responded with 94 yards from scrimmage. And in averaging six yards per carry (78 yards, 16 carries), he demonstrated that the ground game can still function without the leading rusher. That could be crucial in a matchup against an inconsistent Buffalo run defense.
Rookie watch: Antoine Winfield Jr. The Bucs' second-round pick from Minnesota has represented his bloodlines well. Remember, for several years his dad (5-foot-9, 199 pounds) was arguably the NFLâs best pound-for-pound cornerback. Now the versatile safety (5-9, 203) is starting to make his own NFL name, with part of the buzz being that he carries himself with a maturity that is advanced for a rookie.
During the NFC divisional win at New Orleans, Winfield punched out the forced fumble on Jared Cook that changed the gameâs momentum. It added to an impressive regular season (91 tackles, three sacks, four QB hits, two forced fumbles, one recovery, one interception) that earned him all-rookie honors from the Pro Football Writers of America.
Stomach for an upset: Bills at Chiefs. Kansas City's quest to become the NFLâs first repeat champion since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots has included one close call after another, including the divisional playoff win against Cleveland that provided intrigue for Sunday, with Mahomes coming off a concussion while dealing with a turf toe injury.
Each of Kansas Cityâs past eight wins has been achieved with a one-possession margin, averaging 4.1 points per game during that span. The Chiefs (15-2) have proven capable of closing out victories, but as three-point underdogs on Sunday, the Bills (15-3) are next to take their best shot. And Buffalo brings confidence that comes with an eight-game winning streak. If not for a âHail Murrayâ at Arizona in Week 10, it would be a 12-game winning streak. In other words, plenty dangerous.
The Road to Super Bowl 55 goes through⊠Green Bay. The Bucs are one victory from becoming the first team to host a Super Bowl in their own stadium, with Super Bowl 55 set for Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium. Itâs worth noting they wouldnât be the first to stay in their home market for the bash. The Los Angeles Rams, who played at the L.A. Coliseum in 1979, fell to the Steelers in XIV at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. And the San Francisco 49ers smacked Miami in XIX at Stanford Stadium â which was actually closer than Candlestick Park was to the teamâs 1984 training facility a few miles away. But yeah, upset the Packers and the Bucs would finish the season with a true home game.
Did you notice? In falling to the Chiefs in Week 6, the Bills' defense allowed a season-high 245 rushing yards as Kansas City ran 46 times. The only other time this season that Buffalo yielded 200 yards on the ground came in its only loss since then (courtesy of DeAndre Hopkinsâ last-minute snag of Kylerâs âHail Murrayâ pass), as the Cardinals ran for 217 yards. The Bills topped the Ravens and Colts despite allowing at least 150 rushing yards in their first two playoff games.
Statâs the fact: Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who put up a 100-yard game with a touchdown last weekend against Baltimore, is trying to become just the third receiver to advance to a Super Bowl after leading the league in receiving yards. Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, the last to achieve the feat, is the only person to do it twice (1989, 1994). The first: Drew Pearson (1977), who now happens to be the seniors finalist for the Hall of Fameâs Class of 2021.
