NFC Championship Game 2021: Bucs vs. Packers Injury Report and Predictions

The Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off in Week 6 of the regular season. Tampa Bay won that contest 38-10, but that was more than three months ago and under very different circumstances.

This time around, there's a trip to Super Bowl LV at stake.

The Packers have only lost two games since that game in Florida, earned the NFC's No. 1 seed and will play host in the rematch. Tom Brady and the Bucs began clicking offensively late in the season, though, and both teams are coming into this one with plenty of momentum.

Here's a look at everything you need to know about the 2021 NFC title game, including the most relevant injuries, the latest odds and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook and predictions.

Let's dig in.

Schedule Information, Odds and Over/under

Mark LoMoglio/Associated Press

Date: Sunday, January 24

Time: 3:05 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: Fox, Fox Sports Go

Line: Green Bay -3.5

Over/Under: 52

Injury Roundup

Daniel Kucin Jr./Associated Press

For the most part, both the Packers and the Buccaneers are going into this game healthy. There are a couple of exceptions, though.

The Packers won't have starting left tackle David Bakhtiari, who suffered a torn ACL ahead of Week 17. The Buccaneers won't have wideout Antonio Brown, who has been ruled out with a knee injury. Green Bay defensive lineman Kingsley Keke has also been ruled out.

Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle) and Packers cornerback Kevin King (back) are both listed as questionable.

The full injury report can be found on Green Bay's official website.

Prediction

Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press

While Tampa won the teams' first meeting this season convincingly, the Buccaneers aren't taking a rematch for granted.

"You can't fall into that trap of what happened last time," Tampa coach Bruce Arians told reporters. "They're a much, much better football team, [and] we're a much better football team."

Tampa won largely because they were able to control the line of scrimmage defensively, stop the run and pressure Aaron Rodgers without having to blitz. Even without Bakhtiari, the Packers should be prepared to counter that plan this time around.

The Bucs' weakness defensively is their secondary—and it could be especially exploitable if Winfield is at less than 100 percent. While Tampa Bay ranks first in run defense, it ranks a less-than-stellar 21st in passing yards allowed.

This means that Green Bay will put the ball in Rodgers' hands early and often. Given the way he has played down the stretch and in the postseason—he's thrown for 2,017 yards with 24 touchdowns and two interceptions in his past eight games—that's exactly where the Packers want to be.

Defensively, Green Bay will need to do a better job of pressuring Brady and forcing him into mistakes. Brady threw for just 166 yards but had two touchdowns with no interceptions and no sacks in Week 6. Fortunately, the defense, like Rodgers, has played well down the stretch.

Green Bay hasn't allowed 250 passing yards in its past seven games while forcing nine turnovers.

It's hard to pick against Brady in a game of this magnitude, but Rodgers is well positioned to play the more mistake-free game. That alone may be enough to give Green Bay a hard-fought victory.

Prediction: Green Bay 27, Tampa Bay 25

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