by Will Pembroke, Associate Multimedia Editor

This past weekend, the National Football League saw both of its championship games played on Sunday, on time! The fact that somehow, even in the midst of a global pandemic, that the NFL found a way to play all of their playoff games on time is a miracle.

The games themselves proved to be very enticing. The first matchup this past Sunday took place at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, as they took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The first ever Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers playoff matchup did not disappoint. Brady and the Bucs came out on fire in the first half, taking an early lead before faltering in the second half. Brady’s stat line showed the up and down performance he had, throwing three touchdowns passes and three interceptions. Tampa Bay’s defense had a solid performance against the number one ranked Packers offense. Edge rusher Shaq Barrett logged three sacks in the afternoon.

On the other side, Green Bay struggled to sustain momentum throughout the game. Rodgers played well, but the offense faltered late in key drives, their final drive especially, which resulted in a controversial field goal make. Defensively, Green Bay struggled throughout the afternoon. Despite forcing three turnovers, the defensive backfield for the Packers did not play well, making Brady look unstoppable at times. The final score of the game resulted in a 31-26 win for Tampa Bay, making them the NFC’s representative in the Super Bowl.

The AFC’s championship game was not as close as the NFC’s, finishing with a deceptively close score of 38-24. In the matchup of young star quarterbacks, Josh Allen and the Bills took an early lead against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. This did not last long however, as the Chiefs offense got going, scoring 28 unanswered points after going down

early. Mahomes finished the day with over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Bills defense looked helpless trying to defend against the superstars on the Chiefs offense. Josh Allen and the Bills attempted to make a comeback with a late touchdown and an extremely rare onside kick recovery. Ultimately, Kansas City looked like a far better team than Buffalo across the board.

Super Bowl LV will be played at home for the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay as they face off against the Chiefs. This will be the first time that the Super Bowl has taken place in the home stadium of one of the two teams. Tune in to CBS on Feb. 7 to see these two great teams face off!