Tom Brady, after the game between the Buccaneers and the Rams, this Sunday in Tampa, Florida. Mike Ehrmann (AFP)
The king has fallen.
The Buccaneers have been left without a chance to revalidate as NFL champions.
Tom Brady will close a blank season, something incompatible for the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
In some hectic
playoffs
, the Tampa Bay team scratched a feat, one of those that have built the history of American football, but they were defeated in the last three seconds with a Los Angeles Rams field goal.
At halftime, the Bucs trailed the Los Angeles Rams 20-3. Brady, 44, took it in stride. Those types of games, with adversity as their motto, are their thing. In the last quarter the board was still unfavorable with a 27-13. But luck made way for him with errors from the Rams offense and Brady's arm found the right plays to tie it 27-27: a Mike Evans
touchdown
, then a fumble lost by the Rams and another Fournette score. Everything pointed to be another dream afternoon for Tampa, but with 42 seconds on the clock the
quarterback
Matthew Stafford managed to bring his team closer on the field until they reached the field goal area. There Matt Gay made the kick to leave everything 30-27 and also took revenge for a failed attempt that could advance the victory of the California team. Now the shadow of retirement hovers, like every year, over Brady. According to ESPN, the legendary player will take a few weeks to reflect on whether or not he will play next season.
On the other hand, three of the four
playoff
games have been defined by a field goal and in the last seconds. One of the surprise teams, not so much for performance but for their empty windows, is the Cincinnati Bengals. The team got the Tennessee Titans (19-16) out of the way with a kick in the closing seconds. The player to watch is quarterback Joe Burrow, 25. The Bengals were 31 years without reaching the postseason, they have twice lost the Super Bowl in 1982 and 1989 against San Francisco.
In the other key, two of the best pitchers met again.
Aaron Rodgers, at the helm of Green Bay, lost again in these instances against San Francisco, the franchise that rejected him in the player selection process, the draft.
In the middle of a snowfall, Jimmy Garoppolo's 49ers recovered despite trailing 7-0 at halftime.
The closing of the game was in charge of a kick from Robbie Gould of 45 yards.
The Super Bowl will be played on February 13 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the city where the first edition of the great game and the greatest sporting event in the United States was played in 1967. With the defeat of the Buccaneers this Sunday, the throne of Tom Brady is vacant.
This will be the conference finals
San Francisco 49ers vs.
Los Angeles Rams
Cincinnati vs.
Kansas City/Buffalo Bills
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