The Divisional (second) round had a little bit of everything, so I guess it’s fitting that I went 2-2 on the weekend, bringing me to a 6-4 postseason record. Bloodied but unbowed, we press on to the conference championship games, featuring top seeds playing at home, which is how it should be.
NFC Championship
Aaron Rodgers (photo, UPI)
(1) Green Bay 37, (5) Tampa Bay 20 (Sunday afternoon, Fox): Once upon a time when both of these times weren’t very good, former NBC studio analyst Pete Axthelm (now deceased) called this matchup “The Bay Of Pigs.” Obviously, that’s not the case now. The Packers are consistent contenders, and the Buccaneers having awakened from a 13-year playoff absence.
So what’s the skinny in this meeting? Let’s start with the bay in Tampa. The Bucs lost plenty of games this year by relying too much on quarterback Tom Brady. Green Bay, on the other hand (and even with the dominant presence of Aaron Rodgers), seemed more like a complete team. Second, the Pack is at home at likely-to-be-frozen Lambeau Field. It’s a place where they don’t lose very often. Third, there’s an element we’ll never see on the screen. Rodgers would probably never admit it, but the Jordan Love draft selection lit a fire under him. He responded like the superstar he is.
Give TB credit for getting TB this far, but it’s as far as ‘the other bay’ will go.
AFC Championship
Courtesy: Chiefs Wire-USAToday
(1) Kansas City 29, (2) Buffalo 26 (Sunday night, CBS): This should be a close, terrific game between two teams that are eminently capable of representing the conference in Tampa. That’s why it deserves this slot on primetime TV. And the suspenseful aspect of this clash is whether the Bills can stop the multi-faceted Kansas City attack.
That said, all bets are off if Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes can’t play (concussion). I think he will, and that will give this game an all-weapons available look–including on the ground where, surprisingly, the game may be won and lost. Because of Mahomes, the Chiefs’ rushing attack doesn’t get the passing game’s headlines. But KC can run the ball, and that means Buffalo will have its hands full. On the other hand, while the Bills have a high-quality passing game of their own, at issue is whether its backs/line can run effectively against KC (only 32 yards against the Ravens).
It’s a tall order for this squad from Lake Erie’s shore. Managing Mahomes, controlling the KC run, doing both on the road, and playing in their first championship game in over a quarter-decade against the defending NFL champ is asking a lot of a championship-level newcomer.
But if any team can overcome and achieve, it’s these Bills.
