Conference Championship weekend in the NFL is stocked with high-octane offense and big-name quarterbacks. Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers headline the four teams vying for a spot in Super Bowl LI. Never has it appeared truer than now that reliable play at quarterback is essential to winning at the highest levels in the NFL.
2017 NFL conference championships can’t miss thanks to 4 elite quarterbacks
The Packers, Falcons, Steelers, and Patriots feature four of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game and offenses that will keep your eyes glued to the television.
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
During the regular season, the four prolific quarterbacks combined for a passer rating of 107.0. That’s the highest total ever by the four starting quarterbacks in the AFC and NFC Championships.
Each quarterback leads one of the best offenses in the league. For the Patriots and Steelers, they’ve been able to find balance with strong defenses. On the other hand, the Falcons and Packers have had to rely more heavily on their offenses to make up for a lack of defense at times.
No matter the varying styles of each team, their offenses have been fun to watch over the course of the season. Defense was on full display last year during the playoffs, but this year, we might be seeing an offensive surge for the final three games of the postseason.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will rip your heart out of your chest
A lot of quarterbacks are described as “surgical” when it comes to their play and ability to tear apart defenses. “Surgical” doesn’t do Rodgers justice. He’s magical. The Packers were 4-6 heading into Week 12, and their odds of making the postseason looked slim. Getting the Packers a division title was his first trick. He threw for 1,667 yards, 15 touchdowns, and zero interceptions as Green Bay closed out the season on a six-game winning streak that it has stretched to eight games now.
Rodgers has also made some plays that nearly broke the internet. The first one came in the Wild Card round against the Giants. It was the Hail Mary he sent deep into the Green Bay cold night sky that fell right into the hands of Randall Cobb:
The other was a play that just about nobody saw coming, one that Rodgers and the Packers essentially came up with on the field: Rodgers’ pass to Jared Cook that set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal in the Divisional round against the Cowboys:
As hot as Rodgers and the Packers have been, they might be the most fearsome team remaining in the postseason. In their past six games, they’ve scored no less than 30 points, giving their defense plenty to work with.
It’s quite the turnaround from earlier in the season.
The Falcons can destroy you in more ways than one
It seems like we’ve been waiting a few years for the Falcons to put things together the way that they have now. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones have become one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in the NFL. Ryan, the front-runner for league MVP, finished second in the NFL this season with 4,944 yards passing. Jones was second in receiving with 1,409 yards, despite missing two games due to injury.
The finishing touch to the Falcons offense has been the running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Both are talented enough to be feature backs on their own, yet they share the load. That gives the Falcons a fresh body to complement Ryan and make his job easier with the run threat and for opening up play action. Their punishing speed also has opposing defenses gasping for air by the second half of games:
Atlanta’s second-ranked offense carried them throughout the season. Defensively, the Falcons are young and have shown promise, but they still gave up a lot of yards and points this season. Everyone always hears that defense wins championships. That’s not the Falcons. They are going to try to score fast and at a high volume while doing enough on defense until the clock hits 0:00. So far, that’s been a perfect recipe.
Tom Brady makes whatever is around him work, and work well
The Patriots have had a roller coaster of a season on the offensive side. Brady didn’t play the team’s first four games because of his Deflategate suspension. The offense ran with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett under center, but the Pats still went 3-1 and looked fine offensively.
This is what the Patriots do, though. They are able to plug in pieces and make things work no matter who is on the field. So when Brady finally got back in Week 4, he led the Patriots to an 11-1 record in his 12 games with 3,554 passing yards and 28 touchdowns with just two picks.
Brady did this to finish off the season even after his favorite target, Rob Gronkowski, had to have surgery on a herniated disk that ended his season. Dion Lewis’ re-emergence has provided a big boost to the offense. Last week against the Houston Texans, he became the first player in NFL playoff history to have a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, and a kick return for a touchdown in the same game:
He even got more touches than LeGarrette Blount, who had a spectacular year himself with over 1,100 yards and a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns on the season.
The Patriots get production out of guys when you least expect it. The level of success that has been sustained in Foxborough is impressive, and it’s something that many teams have tried, and failed, to mimic for years.
The Steelers’ Killer B’s will frustrate any defense
The Killer B’s — Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell — consist of arguably the best triple-threat on offense that any team has in the NFL. Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls in his career, but his durability and knack for big plays is breeding ground for his two biggest weapons.
Bell’s running style seems unmatched in the NFL. It’s the reason he was the fifth-leading rusher despite missing the first three games due to suspension. His ability to stop and observe the play unfolding in front of him without losing his speed is mind-boggling. It gives off a vibe similar to that of a comedy sketch, where he chills behind the line and eats a sandwich or does his taxes before finally deciding to take off. When he does, anybody who remains in front of him can be embarrassed by a quick move or two:
The other Killer B — Antonio Brown — has a strong case as the NFL’s best wide receiver. At 5’10 and 180 pounds, he’s not one of those physically intimidating receivers, but he’s able to get to any football that a player bigger than him can.
Brown finished the season second in receptions, second in touchdown catches, and fifth in receiving yards. He, like Bell, has a tendency to make plays look entirely too easy, like this one against the Dolphins in the Wild Card round:
This Sunday, the Killer B’s have a tough test against the Patriots underrated defense, but they will try to help the Steelers make their ninth Super Bowl in franchise history.
A year ago, the Denver Broncos rode their ferocious defense all the way to a Super Bowl, even in spite of an anemic offense. But for the fans who want to see a shootout in the playoffs, they’ll probably be in luck. Based on the four teams left standing, we should see plenty of offensive fireworks Sunday.
See More:
