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Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers face off at Lambeau Field

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Championship round picks: who will come out on top?

7.20pm GMT
Preamble
Okay, let’s start with this disclaimer before diving into the NFC Championship Game: NFL games are not duels between quarterbacks. They are not on the field at the same time, their true competition is the other team’s defense. Still, whenever two great quarterbacks are in the same game, we can’t help but compare how they do, even though they don’t directly affect each other’s performance. So, the NFC Championship Game theoretically pits the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Green Bay Packers, but what we’re really here to witness is Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers.
4.54pm GMT
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a guide to today’s game:
What the Buccaneers need to do to win: Surprisingly for two quarterbacks who have ruled the NFL for much of the century, there isn’t a lot of history to go on between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers – this will be only their fourth meeting as starters. Brady won their previous game, a 38-10 beatdown in Week 6 of this season, when the defense harried Rodgers all day, sacking him five times. Rodgers, who has been mostly flawless since, is unlikely to be bullied again though. So Tampa Bay may have to beat the Packers in a shootout, hoping their formidable offensive weapons all click at once. That will put pressure on backup Bucs guard Aaron Stinnie, who made his first ever NFL start against the Saints last week (and did pretty well). Continue reading...