2020-21 NFL Championship Round: NFC & AFC Picks, Plays and Long Shots
After an unbelievable week of NFL Playoff action, the scene is set for the Conference Championship Games.
In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Buffalo Bills mafia will storm Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC title, with the winners lucky enough to head to Tampa Bay for Super Bowl LV.
As always, The Punt Return Podcast takes an in depth look into all the week’s news and talking points, as well as previewing what will be an incredible Conference Championship round.
With Super Bowl LV fast approaching, the four best teams in the league are left to fight it out for seats on the flight to Tampa Bay.
NFC Championship: #TBvsGB
The NFC Championship game is the first on the schedule, with the Green Bay Packers looking to end Tampa Bay’s season one round shy of the Super Bowl. After a strong offensive showing against the LA Rams‘ #1 rated defensive unit (per Football Outsiders), QB Aaron Rodgers will be looking to dominate in similar fashion to an equally dangerous Buccaneers defense.
Rodgers is having an MVP calibre season. He ranks #1 or #2 in most major quarterback metrics for NFL 2020. Big-time performances leading into the NFL Playoffs saw him amass eight touchdowns collectively against the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears, while following up with a solid outing against the Rams following the week off. That being said, in their regular season matchup in Week 6 saw the Bucs zone defense pressure Rodgers into multiple interceptions (two), the only time this occurred all season.
Rodgers’ number one weapon, WR Davante Adams, looks to be a potential match winner for the Packers. With nine receptions and a touchdown matched up against star cornerback, Jalen Ramsey, last week, Adams has the confidence and belief that he can dominate against anyone in the league. However, Adams was the target of both interceptions thrown in the regular season clash between these two sides, which will give the Buccaneers defense plenty to work with.
The real question will be whether Green Bay’s defense is up for the task, and on this one, the hosts of The Punt Return Podcast seem to be on the same page, agreeing that Tampa Bay have a real opportunity to put points on the board against the Packers. Listen to the Conference Championship podcast for all NFC Championship picks.
The Packers have allowed an average of 36.4 points in eight playoff losses during Rodgers’ career. Lapses in the second half have become a reoccurring theme of the Packers defense in recent years, and will be something they need to focus on if they wish to advance to Super Bowl LV.
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It looks to be a high scoring game in which will see a freezing cold Lambeau Field heat up for the final time this season.
You can hear Josh Wye and Nick Splitter’s #TBvsGB picks, plays and long shots on the Conference Championship episode of The Punt Return Podcast.
AFC Championship: #BUFvsKC
On the other side of the coin, the AFC Championship game is an interesting one to analyse.
Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ win over the Cleveland Browns. We have seen that Chad Henne is up for the task, but playing a full AFC championship game is a whole different beast, and coach Andy Reid will have been praying that his MVP QB wold be good to go.
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With Mahomes officially in, the game looks to lean heavily to the Chiefs. They have seemingly been cruising all year without needing to break a sweat, and, prior to the Mahomes concussion, looked very comfortable against the Browns last week.
A high-scoring game potentially looms again, this game featuring two sides with highly rated passing offenses but defensive units that can be taken advantage of. But the hosts of The Punt Return Podcast disagree here, with Nick taking the Overs and Josh – dangerously – looking at the Unders. The biggest weakness of the Chiefs’ defense is against the ground game, an area the Bills won’t be able to pressure as much as they would like since the loss of rookie running back, Zack Moss. Listen to the Conference Championship podcast for all AFC Championship picks.
When the two teams met earlier in the season the Chiefs rolled the Bills, but Buffalo have spent the season building one of the most frightening teams left in the NFL Playoff picture. Last week’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens didn’t reflect their best offensive football, but ultimately the win was made possible for them thanks to their much improved defense.
The stage is set for a huge Conference Championship Round double-header with #TBvsGB and #BUFvsKC on Sunday night/Monday morning depending where you are in the world.
Who have you got?
For more NFL analysis, statistics, picks and plays every week of the NFL season, subscribe to The Punt Return Podcast on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
