Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers betting tips and NFL predictions

Free NFL picks, best bets and previews for the NFC Championship Game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the NFL playoffs for the 2020-21 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers

Where to watch

Sky Sports NFL, 8.05pm Sunday

Best bet

Over 51.5 points
1pt 10-11 Betfred

Preview

An epic encounter is in prospect as Tom Brady bids to write another chapter in his record-breaking career in the NFC Championship game.

Brady takes his Tampa Bay team to snowy Green Bay searching for a record tenth Super Bowl appearance as the Bucs bid to become the first team to play in a Super Bowl on their own field.

Any suggestion of the six-time NFL champion entering semi-retirement when swapping New England for the sunnier climes of Florida this season have been emphatically dismissed by one of his best ever campaigns. Brady threw for a franchise-record 40 touchdowns in the Buccaneers' first playoff run for 13 years.

Only a handful of quarterbacks have performed better than Brady this season and one of them takes to the field in opposition, MVP favourite Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers has been near flawless for much of the year and continued that trend in the divisional round of the playoffs when ripping through the Los Angeles Rams’ top-rated defence in a 32-18 win for Green Bay, who amassed an incredible 484 yards of offence.

The only failure of Rodgers’ season came in their regular-season meeting with Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers defence intercepted him twice and sacked him four times as they routed the Packers 38-10 in Florida.

The Bucs defence arguably peaked in that Week Six encounter though, and although they looked good last weekend when picking off fading New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees three times in their 30-20 win over the Saints, they have been shown to have flaws.

In particular, Tampa Bay have had problems stopping teams in the red zone, an area the Packers and Rodgers have operated in with almost surgical precision.

Scoring touchdowns on 78.5 per cent of their red-zone trips has contributed to Green Bay registering 30 points or more in seven of their last eight games and they can be relied on to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

This clash isn’t just a revenge game for the offence though, with Green Bay’s defence tortured by Brady in October. On paper, they look to have improved, giving up fewer than 20 points in five of their last six games.

The majority of those games have been against below-average offences though, and Championship Sunday is very much Brady country.

There has been little sign of decline from a man who has thrown a record 76 playoff touchdowns and Brady is more than ready to go toe-to-toe with Rodgers in a potentially epic first playoff showdown between two greats of the game.

Team news

Tampa Bay

Wide receiver Antonio Brown (knee) is out. safety Antoine Winfield (ankle) is questionable. Wide receiver Mike Evans (knee) has been cleared to play and defensive tackle Vita Vea (ankle) is set to return.

Green Bay

Defensive end Kingsley Keke (concussion) has been ruled out and cornerback Kevin King (back) is questionable. Kicker Mason Crosby (shoulder) and running back AJ Dillon (quadricep) are set to play.

Key stats

• Tampa Bay have won their last seven away games.
• The total points line has gone over in the last eight games Green Bay have played in January.
• Green Bay have won 15 of their last 16 home games against Tampa Bay.

Not got a bet365 account? Sign up today and get up to £100 in bet credits.

Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport