Same Ol' January Story: Brady Headed to his 10th Super Bowl

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski (left) and QB Tom Brady (right) on Lambeau Field after their 31-26 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship (Credit: The Boston Globe)


Written by Johnny Maffei 

I wrote this headline the day Barstool Sports' Liz Gonzales published her Green Bay Packers NFC North title blog.  I was planning on using it for Green Bay's inevitable playoff exit, I didn't kno it would happen in this fashion, though.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down Gonzales' beloved Packers to punch their ticket back home to Tom Brady's 10th Super Bowl.

Was there ever any doubt?

There were questions about whether Brady could fabricate the high-caliber excellence in chemistry he demands out of his receivers.   There were questions about whether Bucs HC Bruce Arians, who coming off of a 7-9 season entered the 2020 season just 1-2 in the playoffs (29 less wins than his QB), was good enough to keep the rest of the Bucs in check.  There were even questions about whether Brady was too old, but the captain of the "cliff" chronicle himself put that to bed.

Brady keeps defying the odds.  He's played a full season's worth of Divisional Round games and has a 14-2 record.  After his win Sunday, he improved to 10-4 on Championship Sunday in 19 years as a starter.  In just one limited-training camp/preseasonless season, he now has as many NFC titles as:

  • Aaron Rodgers
  • Drew Brees
  • Rex Grossman
  • Ron Jaworski
  • Donovan McNabb
  • Jimmy Garoppolo
I could keep going but I think I made my point.

Here's another way to put it into perspective:
  • Chances of Tom Brady winning his Conf. Championship as a starter: 52.6%
  • Career NBA FG %:
    • Magic Johnson:    52.0%
    • Tim Duncan:        50.6%
    • LeBron James:     50.3%
    • Michael Jordan:   49.7%
    • Steph Curry:        47.6%
  • Chance of a coin landing on heads: 50%
  • Chance of a coin landing on tails:    50%
So yeah, the Packers winning the NFC North might be a more-annual-than-not December story, but Brady's headlines are as legendary as they come.

Over 80% of the time the January Rodgers headline is "Packers fall short, again."

I don't mean to hate on Liz Gonzales while she is doing a lot to help the Barstool Fund run, but this is strictly sports.  She loves trashing on Boston fans and we send it right back, it's fun.  

Stay tuned for our Super Bowl LV series of breakdowns mid-next week and of course our picks heading into the big game on our website and our socials: @RidinPineMGH

Emerson College '22 | Co-host/Producer of Ridin' Pine | Fmr #1 Show on WSFR | Fmr Full Press Coverage Patriots Writer | Socials: @johnnymaffei45