The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game on Sunday, 31 vs.26, to advance to Super Bowl 55. Later Sunday night, reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs took home the AFC Championship with a 38-to-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills, securing a spot in a second consecutive Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 55 is scheduled to be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, making this the first time Super Bowl History that one of the participating teams will play in their home stadium.
The last time a team competing for the NFL Championship played in their home stadium was in 1966, when the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field, a season before the start of the Super Bowl era.
Twice in Super Bowl history, California teams have played in the same city as their home field, but in a different location. The Los Angeles Rams, who at the time called the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home, played in the Rose Bowl in Super Bowl 14. The San Francisco 49ers played at Stanford Stadium in Super Bowl 19, but their home games were played in Candlestick Park.
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Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, who played 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, led Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl appearance since they won it in 2003. Until this season, that was Tampa Bay’s only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Brady will appear in his 10th Super Bowl, having already won six of them, both high points for every player in NFL history.
The Buccaneers got off to a hot start on Sunday, taking a 21-10 lead at half time. However, the attack sputtered in the second half, thanks in part to 3 interceptions from Brady. But with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game and facing a 4th down from their opponent’s 8-yard line, the Packers opted to kick a field goal instead of going for the touchdown, making a conversion of had two points removed from a bind. They never got the ball back, as Bucs’ attack got two more first downs on the ensuing possession.
“It has been a great journey so far,” Brady said after Sunday’s game. “We put the work in. Guys just embraced everything, really, when [head coach Bruce Arians] came here last year. A lot of great things happened, a lot of great young players. I just made up my mind. I loved coming to work with this group of guys every day. ”
Brady will face Patrick Mahomes, who earned the title of Super Bowl MVP after leading the Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54. Bowl history as Mahomes is younger than Brady by 18 years, 1 month and 4 days.
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The Chiefs were trailing 9-0 early in the AFC Championship after a cushioned kick sent Buffalo the ball to the 3-yard line. The Bills, who had already risen three times, scored a touchdown on the first game of the drive, but missed the extra point. After that, the Chiefs’ offense came to life, scoring 21 points in the second quarter, while their defense kept the Bills down just three points. The Bills wouldn’t score another touchdown until the 4:08 point of the fourth quarter.
After a failed 2-point conversion, Buffalo was seventeen. They managed to recover an outside kick, but the ensuing ball possession was just another field goal, reducing the lead to 14 with just over three minutes to go. . The Chiefs then put together an eight-play drive, including three kneeling, to run up the clock and secure the win.
Super Bowl 55 is scheduled for Sunday, February 7, and will air on CBS.
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