The final four of the NFL presented some very intriguing matchups. In the NFC, we had Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers taking on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the AFC, we had Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs taking on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Two different generations of the game’s best talents at quarterback. Here is a recap of the action and who punched a ticket to Super Bowl LV.
Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The “Battle of the Bays” started slow. Both offenses couldn’t gain
much traction in the first quarter, but the two veteran signal-callers got a feel for the defense in the second quarter.
Brady and Rodgers started picking apart the opposing defenses and moving the ball down the field. After Green Bay failed to stop Tampa Bay from converting a fourth down with a few seconds in the second half, the Bucs capitalized by scoring a 39-yard touchdown from Brady to Scottie Miller.
In the second half, the Packers responded by scoring two touchdowns to bring the game back in to reach. They forced Tom Brady to make arid throws, which resulted in three interceptions.
As the Packers attempted to make a late push in the fourth, they were stopped and forced to kick a field goal in the red zone. Many thought that they should’ve been aggressive and went for a touchdown, but instead, they settled for three and bet on themselves to make a stop on defense.
In the end, Green Bay couldn’t stop the Bucs, and they ran the clock out. They won by a final score of 31-26 and punched their ticket to Super Bowl 55. Tom Brady threw for 280 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions and will make his tenth Super Bowl appearance. Chris Godwin led the passing attack with five catches for 110 yards. On defense, Devin White led with 15 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Shaq Barrett came up with three sacks and Jason Pierre-Paul with two, respectively.
Aaron Rodgers finally got to host a Championship game at Lambeau for the Packers but came up just short. Rodgers threw for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the loss. Marquez Valdes-Scantling finished the game with four catches for 115 yards and one touchdown. Davante Adams finished nine catches for 67 yards. Aaron Rodgers will likely be named the league MVP.
Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes looked to make a second straight Super Bowl appearance, but Josh Allen and the Bills stood in the way.
The game started ugly for the Chiefs. Buffalo drove down and kicked a field goal going up 3-0. On the next Buffalo possession, they were forced to punt, only for it to be muffed and recovered on the three-yard line. They ran it in for a touchdown and went up 9-0. Unfortunately for the Bills, Kansas City responded and never looked back. The Chiefs went on to score 21 unanswered to take a commanding 21-9 lead going into the half. They kept up the second-half pace and went up 38-15 early in the fourth.
Buffalo didn’t have enough to cut the lead in the fourth and lost. The final score was 38-24, and Kansas City will go to their second straight Super Bowl, where the Tampa Bay Buccanneers await them. Patrick Mahomes threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Tyreke Hill and Travis Kelce became the first duo to have 100 receiving yards in the same game, in consecutive games. Hill finished with nine catches for 172 yards, and Kelce had 13 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Unfortunately for the Bills, their historic season has ended. Josh Allen threw for 287 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Allen also ran for 88 yards.