In heartbreaking fashion, the Green Bay Packers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26 at Lambeau Field. It was the first NFC Championship Game at Lambeau since 2007, and the Packers couldn’t capitalize. 

“I’m just pretty gutted,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his postgame presser. He had 33 completions for 346 yards and three touchdowns with one interception for a quarterback rating of 101.6. “This one definitely stings and is going to for a long time. Especially the way it played out and the chances that we had, the opportunities to seize that game at various points.” 

Center Corey Linsley, who’s unfortunately no stranger to these conference losses (now losing four in his career) agreed. “It sucks. It sucks losing in the NFC Championship.”

The offensive line finally struggled without All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari after not giving up a single sack in the Divisional Round, this time against the speed of the Buccaneers edge rush, giving up five sacks on the day for a loss of 32 yards. 

“For me on a personal level, I definitely felt like I wanted to make this journey. We wanted to win a Super Bowl together. We had talked about it and dreamed about it together,” Linsley said of Bakhtiari, adding that he’s glad Bakhtiari got his contract so at least he’s set, and that he’ll bounce back stronger than ever from his ACL injury. 

The players and head coach alike shared plenty of disbelief about the abruptness of the season’s end. 

“We had full confidence in the locker room that we were going to the Super Bowl,” safety Adrian Amos said, who snagged one of Tom Brady’s three interceptions on the night. (Brady finished the game with 20 completions for 280 yards and three touchdowns in addition to those three picks, giving him a quarterback rating of 73.8.)

“You kind of feel lost in a sense of like what to do next and everything because in a lot of our minds, I think speaking for a lot of people in this building, we were very much set on going down to Tampa and playing in that game,” said receiver Allen Lazard.

There were plenty of chances for this Packers team to capitalize and rally back from an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter, and they got close, but it just wasn’t enough when it counted. 

“I feel like the entire team was just in disbelief that we just lost that game,” said Amos of the locker room atmosphere, adding that up until that final play the team really felt like they were going to win. “We had plenty of opportunities to win this game.”

Just like the offensive line finally giving way after an exceptional season, the offense also stalled in the red zone when the team needed those points the most. 

“We’ve been so good in the red zone all season. This was a game where we needed seven. Didn’t come up with it a couple times,” Rodgers said of the missed opportunities inside the red zone. On the night, the team went 2-for-4 in the red zone, a far cry from its 80% efficiency in the regular season. 

What makes this loss so difficult for so many players is the way the team responded to adversity all game. It wasn’t like the losses in 2016 or 2019 when the team fell behind early and couldn’t recover. 

“We had our chances,” said Rodgers, emphasizing the amount of work that goes into getting to a position like this, hosting an NFC Championship Game at home. “Different position than the last couple of these where we got blown out and didn’t really have a chance. They went up three scores. We battled back with a couple scores. Defense came up with some big turnovers and, you know, we had a lot of chances.” 

For Lazard, he’ll remember this season for the adversity the team overcame and a lot of the career years that individual players had. “This one hurts, and it hurts too because we were having a great season, we really felt like. Obviously 13-3 last year, 13-3 this year, just felt a little bit different just the bond that we had, the camaraderie that we had in the locker room.”

True to form, Head Coach Matt LaFleur shouldered the blame, saying that he hurts for everyone involved from the players and coaches to everyone in the organization and the fans. “I felt like we had plenty of opportunities tonight to take advantage and get the job done. We didn’t do it, and that falls on me.”

The 2020 season will be special for a number of reasons, with guard Lucas Patrick pointing out the social justice movements that took place across the NFL, and the pandemic the league managed to play an entire season through. But perhaps the biggest memory for this team will be the close-knit nature and camaraderie of the squad. 

“We became closer, even closer than we were last year,” said Patrick. “When a team breaks it down on ‘family,’ I felt that this year. It wasn’t just a saying. We truly had each other’s backs. That’s what makes it tough. It’s hard to bottle, it’s hard to recreate that type of environment anywhere. This team loves each other.”

Those strong bonds within the locker room can also help explain why this loss stings a little bit more than the others.

“I’m gutted for Big Dog, and obviously I’m hurting for myself. Mason. Some of the older guys, Tramon coming back. But it hurts for those young guys too who grew so much and added so much to our team,” said Rodgers. 

One player in particular being Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who had the performance of his career on Sunday for the Packers. He hauled in four receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown, with his long coming on a 50-yard score. 

And now, as the season comes to an end, the finality of it all sets in. It’s possible some of the players that gave closing interviews won’t be back in Green and Gold next season, and that might be the toughest loss of all. 

“There’s always change, that’s the only constant in this business. It’s really tough to get to this point. Really really tough. Especially with it only being one bye week in the playoffs. It’s a grind just to get to this point. And that makes the finality of it all kind of hit you like a ton of bricks. That’s why it’s a gutting feeling in your stomach,” said Rodgers.

Whatever narratives and speculation that will come out in the next few months about Rodgers’ future in Green Bay, LaFleur tried to squash with his own remarks on Sunday. 

“I sure as hell hope so,” he said when asked if he thinks he’ll have another season with Rodgers under center. “The guy’s the MVP of this league. He’s the heart and soul of our football team. So hell yeah. He better be back here. He’s our leader. 

“Just so appreciative of him buying into what we’re trying to get done around here and leading that group. His voice carries a lot of weight in that locker room. I feel for him. To be in this situation. And for us not to get it done. It hurts.”

There was a lot of hurt in the postgame interviews, but there was also a lot of appreciation for this season and the relationships players built. While this one will sting for a long time, it’s also a year players will look back on realizing they defied so many odds to not only have a successful NFL season, but play in an NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field. 

“I’ll always be thankful for this season,” said Rodgers.