NFC and AFC Championship Game Preview

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Year after year the divisional playoff games come and go, and this year is no exception with there being four teams left in the running for who will represent each conference.

Starting with the NFC,  the high-powered Packers offense which showed up against the #1 ranked defense of the Los Angeles Rams and will go up against another top-rated team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This game will take place on January 24th at 3:05 pm EST, with Fox being the TV station gifted with the broadcast of the game. The Packers are also 3 point favorites for Sunday. This will also be the second time these teams square off against each other this season.

That game happened all the way back in week 6, where the Packers started off strong with a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but never scored after that, losing the game 10-38. However the Packers will be at home, and with the forecast calling for snow, the Packers have the advantage. The key to Green Bay finding success really comes down to the Packer’s ability to run the ball.

In the week 6 game, the Packers had a total of 94 rushing yards. Considering they had 188 rushing yards in last week’s game against the Rams this is not very good. Another anticipated match-up to watch will be the play from each team’s quarterback. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady will clash in the playoffs for the first time, but unfortunately for us, it will also be the last.

The key factor for the Buccaneers to do well on Sunday will be to get Aaron Rodgers to feel uncomfortable. During this season when Aaron Rodgers is being blitzed he has 18 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, compared to when he is being blitzed he has 32 touchdowns and 1 interception, so the Buccaneers need to get Aaron Rodgers if they want any chance of winning.

My prediction for this game is the Packers will win with a score of 35-21. The reason being this is a very different Packers team than the one that played earlier in the season against the Buccaneers. I also believe even with a limited number of fans in Lambeau Field stadium, there is still a huge home-field advantage with the cold and the Buccaneers being from the sunshine state, Florida.

Now onto the AFC side of things with the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs.

This game is also a rematch from week 6 of this year, where the Chiefs ended up beating the Bills with the score of 26-17. Kickoff will be at 6:40 pm EST and will be broadcast by CBS.

The huge X-factor of this game is if the Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play. Mahomes suffered what seemed to be a concussion on Sunday when they beat the Browns. The team recently came out and said that it was a neck injury and that Mahomes will need to clear concussion protocol by the NFL.

If Mahomes can be cleared then I think the Chiefs have a chance. However, since he has not been cleared yet, he only has 2 days left. I have my doubts if he can play Sunday, but I believe that this game will not be a cake walk for the Bills if Mahomes does not play on Sunday.

The Bills can only do one thing if they wish to win the game, even if Mahomes plays for the Chiefs on Sunday or not, and that is running the football well.

It is no secret that the Bills have struggled to run the ball all year, but if they want any chance to go to the Super Bowl they need to run the ball. The reason being if the Bills can keep the Chiefs high powered and explosive offense off the field then the Bills can control the game the entire way through. However, all the defense would have to do is get 1-2 stops and they would be in business.

That all being said I would say the Bills have the advantage in this game, and I think they will win with a score of 20-17, advancing to their 5th Super Bowl in the team’s history.