By Teo Secilmis, Y12
The 2021 NFL playoffs ended a couple of weeks ago, crowning Tom Brady with his 7th super bowl ring. These playoffs differed greatly to previous years but were as exciting as any other.
The 2021 NFL playoffs began with a wild card game between the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts, which the Bills won 27-24. The game ended in an extremely climactic way with a game-winning defensive stop by the Buffalo Bills, who did not want a repeat of their game vs the Arizona Cardinals during the regular season. This was the Bills’ first playoff win since 1995. Following this game, the Los Angeles Rams upset the Seattle Seahawks by putting on a defensive clinic. Another upset came from the hands of the Cleveland Browns who beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, also giving them their first playoff win since 1995.
In the divisional round, the Green Bay Packers led by this year’s Most Valuable Player, Aaron Rodgers, beat the LA Rams. The Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints. Surprisingly, the Browns almost came up with the win against the defending champions (Chiefs) and Patrick Mahomes. The Chief’s backup quarterback Chad Henne was forced to play in the 4th quarter after star quarterback Patrick Mahomes got injured, and did his job making surprising game winning plays against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Following the divisional round, came the conference finals which were much expected matchups. The Chiefs played the Bills and the Packers played Tampa Bay. The two games featured the matchup between the two future faces of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen and the matchup between two legends: Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
The Bills came out on top during the first quarter, leading the Chiefs 9-0 but were (understandably) not able to stop the Chiefs historical offense during the rest of the game. The trio of Mahomes, Kelce and Hill were unstoppable as they have been for the past 3 years. However, Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo Bills need to be applauded for their incredible and historical season as they are now one of the best and most feared teams in the NFL.
In the NFC championship, Tampa Bay came out on top vs the Packers in a thrilling matchup. Even though Tom Brady threw for 3 interceptions, he and his team came out victorious over the number one team in the NFL this season.
Two weeks after the conference championships, came the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay vs the Chiefs. Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, vs Patrick Mahomes, the young reigning champion and 1 time MVP, the future of the NFL. The perfect matchup. The Super Bowl, unlike the rest of the playoffs, was not too exciting. Tampa Bay demolished the Chiefs, 31 to 9. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski made New England Patriots fans reminisce about the old times as they combined for 2 touchdowns. Tampa’s defense also had a great game as they made Patrick Mahomes throw for 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which is as rare as it gets. Now don’t get me wrong, Patrick Mahomes played one hell of a game, making the most incredible and breath-taking throws, but his receivers just could not catch them. Devin White on Tampa Bay’s defense proved himself to be in the conversation for the best linebacker in the league with 1 interception and 8 tackles. Furthermore, a large number of penalty flags were called on the Chief’s defense aiding Tampa Bay in their Super Bowl win. Tom Brady was named Super Bowl MVP by throwing for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns, showing the rest of the NFL he is not going to hang his cleats up just yet. Tampa Bay were able to win the Super Bowl at home in Tampa, despite facing the top 2 offenses in back to back games, for the second time in their franchise history.
