The Green Bay Packers squandered an opportunity to play in Super Bowl LV during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stormed to a 28-10 lead in the second half and held on late to beat the Packers and clinch a spot in the Super Bowl.
Here are some quick takes from the 31-26 defeat:
– No team can make that many mistakes and miss that many opportunities and beat a good football team in a big game.
– It was quite the gut punch to go down big, claw back, and then lose in that fashion.
– There’s something so uniquely cruel about losing in the conference title game. There’s no glory, no celebration, no trophy, no Super Bowl. Just an abrupt, season-ending loss. Instantly turns a great team into a fart in the wind. The Packers have lost four straight NFC title games.
– The Packers offense, the No. 1 scoring offense in football in 2020, will feel absolutely sick about going 0-for-3 scoring touchdowns on the final three possessions. A chance to take the lead or tie the game ended up in two three-and-outs and a field goal. The comeback needed one more drive, but they couldn’t muster it. So disappointing.
– We’ll be questioning Matt LaFleur’s decision to kick a field goal down eight points for a long time. Getting a defensive stop AND scoring a touchdown was a lot to ask in the final two minutes. The margin for error was razor-thin.
– You have to wonder if the first red-zone trip – which featured three incompletions from the 8-yard line and then a field goal – played heavily into LaFleur’s thinking on the final drive. He clearly lost some confidence in what the Packers were doing execution or scheme-wise down near the end zone.
– Turnovers ended up being the difference, but not in the way most expected. The Packers won the turnover battle, but the Bucs did more with their turnovers. Green Bay got seven points off three takeaways; Tampa Bay got 14 off two.
– The defense couldn’t stop a third down and gave up an unforgivable touchdown before the half, but three interceptions of Tom Brady in the second half certainly provided opportunities for the Packers to steal this game back.
– The Packers defense played really, really well on early downs. The run defense, which allowed 3.2 yards per carry, was particularly impressive.
– Losing David Bakhtiari really ended up hurting in this game. The Buccaneers got consistent pressure with four-man rushes because their edge rushers were winning battles against Billy Turner and Rick Wagner. Wagner, the right tackle, had an especially hard time. Turner would have been playing there with Bakhtiari healthy. The Bucs finished with five sacks, including three from Shaq Barrett.
– The Packers’ pass-rush eventually heated up, and it changed the whole game. Pressuring Brady was very effective. In fact, he nearly threw the game away under pressure.
– It’s very difficult to envision Kevin King returning next season, although he lowered his value on the open market considerably on Sunday. A brutal performance on the biggest stage, especially when superimposed against what Jaire Alexander accomplished opposite him.
– Let’s hope Aaron Jones’ final play in Green Bay isn’t the lost fumble in the third quarter. It could be.
– Hat’s off to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Packers needed him badly, and he produced a star performance.
– A.J. Dillon created 30 yards on just four touches. I wonder if LaFleur will regret not giving him a few more opportunities in the second half.
– Allen Lazard had crucial catches on third down.
– The Packers didn’t really have an answer for Chris Godwin in the slot. He caught five passes for 110 yards and should have had a bunch more. The Bucs receivers let Brady down a bunch of times.
– This will be an interesting game to get a closer look at what happened in the passing game. The broadcast highlighted several potential missed opportunities, but there’s always necessary context to be discovered. The Packers’ dropback passing game was inconsistent.
– The Packers special teams were responsible for major swings in field position. A disappointing performance from a disappointing group in 2020.
– One final thought, and I hate that it’s about the officiating, but here it goes: Consistency in calls is possibly the single most important factor in officiating football. Any play can have a penalty, but it’s the consistency in which the rules are applied that determines everything. The consistency with certain types of calls wasn’t there today.
– A busy offseason awaits the Packers. I think everyone knows this team is going to look considerably different to start 2021.
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