Packers-Patriots could certainly be a Super Bowl matchup on the first Sunday of February in Atlanta. However, if the two annual powerhouses don’t play then, it’s likely that this will be the last time that future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady face off.

Rodgers and Brady will be first-ballot Hall of Famers five years after they retire. Brady has won three NFL MVP Awards and Rodgers two. Brady also has five Super Bowl rings, most of any quarterback, and four Super Bowl MVP Awards. As good as Rodgers is, and he’s arguably been the better overall quarterback for the past few years, he has just one Super Bowl appearance: Winning the game and MVP honors in XLV vs. the Steelers – a rare year Brady’s Patriots didn’t make it this decade.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

AFC and NFC teams rotate one division they face in the opposite conference every year, meaning the Packers and Patriots won’t play again in the regular season until 2022 unless the NFL changes its scheduling patterns.  Could Brady still be going at age 45? It’s possible but not likely.

Somehow, Brady and Rodgers have played each other just once: Week 13 of 2014. Green Bay won 26-21 at home behind 368 yards and two TDs from Rodgers. Brady threw for 245 and two scores.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers played terrific football for most of Sunday, especially on defence, but suffered a gut-punch 29-27 loss at the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams – a loss that could easily be the difference between the Packers making the playoffs or not. L.A. hit a 34-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to take the 29-27 lead, but that’s a ton of time for Rodgers, one of the best in those situations in league history. He already has led late rallies to victories against Chicago and San Francisco this year.

Except, on the kickoff following that field goal, Green Bay’s Ty Montgomery stupidly (and there’s no other word for it) tried to return it despite catching it in the end zone, where he should have just knelt. Montgomery would fumble and the Rams recovered. Game over. Even Coach Mike McCarthy said Montgomery was supposed to take a knee. He’s not the team’s primary kick returner. The guy who is, Trevor Davis, is on IR. Montgomery is lucky he still has a job. The Pack are 1-4 ATS in their past five after a loss.

New England Patriots

The Patriots didn’t play particularly well Monday night in Buffalo but did what had to be done and got a late cover with a Devin McCourty 84-yard interception return for a touchdown with just under six minutes to go in a 25-6 victory – the Pats had gone 40 games without a defensive touchdown, longest drought in the NFL. While the defence did its part against the NFL’s least-talented offence, it is concerning that the New England O struggled when it got to the red zone, continually settling for field goals.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski played after missing Week 7 due to injury but was quiet with three catches for 43 yards. Rookie running back Sony Michel didn’t, but it’s possible he could return here. The Patriots running game was largely non-existent without Michel.

Packers vs. Patriots Prediction