The Green Bay Packers certainly had opportunities to complete their comeback and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
Too many were missed.
The Packers stormed back from down 18 points in the second half but were unable to finish off the comeback, losing 31-26 to the Buccaneers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The Packers scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives to cut the lead to five points and make the score 28-23 to start the fourth quarter, but the offense was unable to score points after two Jaire Alexander interceptions, failed to score a touchdown and settled for a field goal down eight points, and then couldn’t stop the Buccaneers on the final drive, thanks to large part to a questionable call on Kevin King on third down.
The Buccaneers will play the winner of the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LV.
A cluster of mistakes created the hole. Two turnovers – an Aaron Rodgers interception and an Aaron Jones fumble – handed the Buccaneers 14 points, including seven on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller on the final play of the first half. Jones’ fumble set the touchdown that gave the Buccaneers a 28-10 lead.
Rodgers threw touchdown passes to Robert Tonyan and Davante Adams on two straight drives, but he was unable to get the Packers into the end zone on three straight drives in the fourth quarter. The Packers kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 31-26 but failed to get off the field on the final drive.
King was flagged for pass interference on third down with just under two minutes left, allowing the Buccaneers to kill the rest of the clock.
The Packers’ season ends for the second straight year in the NFC Championship Game.