Brady Leads Bucs To Super Bowl

The GOAT is going back to the Super Bowl.

And if you're planning to count Tom Brady's trips to the NFL title game, you're now going to need every finger on both hands.

Brady sealed his record 10th Super Bowl appearance Sunday, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past Aaron Rodgers and the top-seeded Green Bay Packers 31-26 on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Bucs will face either the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LV in Tampa on Feb. 7, becoming the first team to play the game in its home stadium.

While winning conference titles is nothing new for Brady – this is his 10th win in 14 appearances across the NFC and AFC – it's the first conference championship for the Buccaneers since 2003.

This Bucs took the scenic route to get there.

Owning a commanding 28-10 lead early in the second half, it looked as though Tampa Bay might cruise, but the Packers wouldn't go away.

Rodgers put together a 75-yard drive on Green Bay's second possession of the second half, culminating in a touchdown to Robert Tonyan.

The Packers then picked off Brady to give the ball back to Rodgers, who marched his team 60 yards for another score, this time to Davante Adams. That cut the lead to five after the Packers came up short on their attempt to go for two, as Equanimeous St. Brown was unable to corral Rodgers' pass in the end zone.

As Tampa Bay's offense hit a major lull in the second half, its defense picked up the slack in a big way. Linebacker Shaquil Barrett led the way with two second-half sacks, finishing with a game-high three.

Special teams also stepped up for the Bucs, as kicker Ryan Succop extended Tampa Bay's lead to 31-23 with a crucial 46-yard field goal.

The Packers put together a 58-yard drive to threaten the Bucs, but with two minutes and change remaining, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur opted to take a chip-shot field goal ⁠instead of going for the score and two-point conversion on fourth down — a controversial decision that will be unpacked momentarily.

Perhaps more controversially, the referees came into focus at the end of the game, calling defensive pass interference on third-and-4 to give the Bucs a fresh set of downs with 1:45 to play.

To say Rodgers was fired up about the call would be an understatement.

Nevertheless, the Buccaneers were able to run out the clock and claim the NFC title with the five-point triumph. As a wild-card team, the Bucs played three road games en route to the Super Bowl.

They will make history by playing at home in Raymond James Stadium in two weeks.

Here are the major takeaways from the NFC Championship:

1. LaFleur's decision to kick

Down by eight points with a little more than two minutes remaining, the Packers opted for a field-goal attempt on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line.

Mason Crosby converted the 26-yard kick, cutting Green Bay's deficit to five.

Keep in mind, Green Bay would have needed a fourth-down conversion for the touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the score. Even so, questions began flying across Twitter.

That field goal was the last the Packers would see of the ball, as the Buccaneers milked the clock down to zeroes.

Rodgers' take?

LaFleur's decision is one that will surely be examined in the coming days.

2. Half the battle

The end of the first half had its fair share of drama, too.

With less than two minutes left in the half, it looked as though the Packers would stay within striking distance at 14-10 at worst.

But Green Bay’s decision to press the issue backfired, as Sean Murphy-Bunting hauled in his third interception of the postseason to give possession back to the Bucs.

Then Brady & Co. went to work.

Brady found Leonard Fournette for a 6-yard gain to move the ball to Green Bay’s 45-yard line, followed by two incompletions that set up a fourth-down decision. Bucs coach Bruce Arians went for it, and Brady found Fournette again to convert for a first down.

Not willing to settle for a long field goal, Brady went for it with eight seconds left before the break and no timeouts remaining.

Scotty Miller darted up the field, beating Kevin King along the sideline for a game-breaking touchdown to close out the half.

That 39-yard strike to Miller gave Tampa Bay a 21-10 lead heading into halftime and marked another opportunity that the Bucs capitalized on.

3. Brady bolsters distinguished résumé

The quarterback many consider the greatest of all time didn't have his best game Sunday, but few will remember his second-half performance when he finally decides to call it a career.

The 43-year-old quarterback finished 20-for-36 for 280 yards and three touchdowns but also threw three second-half interceptions.

Fortunately for Brady, the Packers weren't able to do much with the miscues from the Buccaneers' QB.

Brady is just the second quarterback to lead a team to conference titles in both the AFC and NFC.

While his exploits as a member of the New England Patriots ⁠— six Super Bowl rings and four Super Bowl MVPs ⁠— are well documented, Brady leading the Buccaneers to the Lombardi Trophy could put any argument against his GOAT credentials to bed.

The same can't be said of Rodgers, who finished 33-for-48 for three touchdowns and an interception. Although he had a solid performance, Sunday's loss dropped the presumptive league MVP to 1-4 in NFC Championship Games.