The NFL Playoffs

The+NFL+Playoffs

Carter Shoemaker, Staff Writer

This NFL season has been nothing short of high-tempo. Even with the new restrictions due to COVID-19, we’ve seen big plays, crazy comebacks, and heart-breaking losses. We even got to see Tuesday and Wednesday football due to the rescheduling of COVID-ridden teams. We are now in the midst of the Super Bowl champions as we approach championship weekend. This Sunday we will see the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Buffalo Bills and the Green Bay Packers hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each with their own thrilling headlines, who will come out on top and lead their team to the Super Bowl?

Our first matchup is Green Bay vs Tampa Bay. With their first meeting being a one-sided affair, Rodgers and the Pack hope to even the score and knock off the heavily stacked Buccaneers. While many knew Brady would translate to a new team nicely, no one was expecting this team to be where it is now. Brady has seamlessly picked up the new offensive scheme and has performed very well. With a mass amount of weapons like Gronk, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and even Antonio Brown, Brady’s life has been a lot easier. On top of that, he has had a very good ground game to support him. With the main carries seen by breakout star Ronald Jones and newcomer Leonard Fournette, the Bucs have experienced a nice one-two punch in the backfield. The defense picked up where it left off at the end of last season and has become the NFL’s number 1 rush defense. The one weakness seen however is inconsistency from the secondary. While the Bucs secondary is very talented, all corners have seen bad days and hope to leave those in the past come Sunday. On the Packers’ side, the high-flying offense led by none other than Aaron Rodgers hopes to continue this feat. With arguably the best receiver in football Davante Adams, the Packers’ offense is easily comparable to that of the Bucs. Both have many speedy receivers who can find a soft spot in the defense. The Packers also have a great runningback room in Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. They even have an emerging TE in Robert Tonyan, who in the offseason was training with one of the best TEs in the game, George Kittle. On defense is where they start to get a little soft. While the Packers defense is by no means a liability, it has not performed to the standard they had hoped for. The last time these two played the Packers just looked lost both offensively and defensively. Look out for this to be an action-packed Brady-Rodgers fight, as both try to go to yet another Super Bowl.

Lastly, we have the two high-powered offenses of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. In his last game against Cleveland, Patrick Mahomes suffered what appeared to be ahead/neck injury forcing him out of the game. Chiefs fans are on the edge of their seat waiting to see if he will make his return or if Chad Henne will have to suit up once more. You know what they say “Hennething is possible”. If Mahomes is not able to come back on Sunday, still expect this to be a good game, I doubt the Chiefs are going to go down without a fight. On the opposing side, Bills Mafia is awaiting their first Super Bowl arrival since 1994. With rising star and MVP candidate Josh Allen having the most impressive season of his career, the Bills have high hopes for this team. With the amazing talent on both sides of the ball, the Bills are in a great position to knock out the defending Super Bowl champs, even with Mahomes playing. Like the last one, expect this to be a highly offensive game, with each team having many superstars all over the roster.

Just like that we are once again approaching the end of another wonderful NFL season. While this one, in particular, rose many questions about the future of the league, we were still able to persevere and even have limited fans at the Super Bowl. To all the teams good luck, and congrats on making it this far!