Sunday, 3 a.m.

In the shadow of the scoreboard, perhaps you forget. But early in the afternoon of October 18, things were going along just fine for Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers and his team were rolling. On the road, they led the Tampa Bay Bucs 10-0, and Rodgers seemed to be adding another page to his MVP resume. He had hit eight of his first 12 passes, and all seemed right in the world of cheese.

And then his day went straight to hell.

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He was picked off by Mike Edwards, who returned the ball 37 yards to the Packers' 2 and set up a Bucs' touchdown. He then was picked off by Jamel Dean, who ran it back 32 yards for a score. He had a 23-yard pass overturned by a replay. He was called for intentional grounding. And the meek Bucs' secondary suddenly was making plays in a 38-10 victory.

Rodgers finished that day with just 16 completions (a season low) for 160 yada and a rating of just 35.4. (He hit just eight of his last 23 throws). Mind you, Rodgers had 14 regular season games with a rating of more than 100. It was the only game all year he didn't throw for a touchdown. It was the only game all year that he threw two picks. It was one of only two games he was sacked at least four times.

Possible explanation? Maybe it was someone else. Maybe Rodgers was missing that day, and a stand-in took his place. That couldn't have been Rodgers, could it?

And if so, could it be again?

The Bucs, who are coming off another impressive game against the Saints, need to at least make Rodgers appear normal today. They need turnovers. They need pressure.

What they don't need is for Rodgers to blow up in the manner in which he is capable.

Let's face it. It won't be as cold as the locals prefer today, but for the Bucs, it will be a test. Lambeau Field is probably the NFL's biggest home field advantage in January and, with Rodgers, it's like playing the Spartans in Sparta.

Can the Bucs do it? Sure they can, if they're close to perfect, if they can control the ball and keep the Packers out of the end zone.

Are they likely to do it? They'll need a better start than most weeks. They'll need a big game from Mike Evans, perhaps another from Chris Godwin. They'll need to run the ball. Another interception or two wouldn't hurt, either.

Hey, say what you will. The Bucs have had a great year, and they've finally grown into the team we thought they could be.

But today, everything adds up to Green Bay's favor. If the Bucs win, yes, you can call it an upset.

Prediction: Green Bay 24, Tampa Bay 17.

Saturday, 4 a.m.

Compared to some of his other seasons, this one was a small one for Antonio Brown.

On the other hand, he was good enough for this. It's bad news that he won't play in Sunday's NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers.

Remember, this was the receiver the Bucs said they didn't need because of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Yet, Brown was a solid third receiver for Tampa Bay, catching 45 passes for 483 yards in eight games. He's caught three more for 59 yards in the post-season.

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Factor that over 16 games, and Brown has made a solid contribution. But unless the Bucs can beat the Packers Sunday, that may be over. The Bucs have announced that Brown will miss the title game.

“I just talked to him this morning and to put him on the plane, have him fly up there and have it swell more doesn’t make any sense,
Bucs' coach Bruce Arians said. "He wasn’t as close as we had hoped, so we’ll get him ready for the next one.” 

For Brown, it has been a season of rebuilding after he was ejected from the NFL. Even now, the court will have a statement to make on Brown's future.

But in flashes, Brown has shown that he still can play. Against Atlanta, he caught 11 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think we’re going to have to find a way to win," said quarterback Tom Brady. "It obviously sucks for Antonio. We all wish he could be out there with us. Other guys are going to have to step up and do the job. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys who haven’t been in there as much when A.B. has been in there. We wish everybody could play. We’ve lost a few guys over the course of the season. It’s a great game to play in. You would want everyone to play in this game. We’re going to have to figure out a way to win regardless.”

Brady will still have Evans and Godwin, plus Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson. The loss of Brown won't determine winning or losing.

For Brady, it will be the 14th conference title of his career.

“I just try to do the best I can do to show up everyday with a good attitude, work hard and do what my job is," Brady said. "It’s been fun just being here and I had a great time in New England, as well. I’ve had a great 21 years. I’m a very blessed and lucky guy. The fact that I’m still playing football, for me, is a blessing. I’ve had a lot of great teammates that I’ve played with over the years and a great group this year. That’s the best part about football is all of the relationships you have. It’s been a fun year doing it.”

Brady says the game remains the same as his early days.

"I think the fundamentals of football have stayed pretty much the same," Brady said. "There have been some rule changes and so forth, but the team that is most prepared, has the best fundamentals and executes under pressure is the one that wins. I don’t think that changes. I think you can run different schemes and routes. No one has really reinvented the game. It’s probably more of a skill contest now than probably what it used to be. There is probably not as much contact. It’s still a very physical game, but probably more skill than power. It probably used to be as much power as skill and now it’s probably more about quickness and on how things are being called. That’s probably the only real difference.

"Again, I try to show up everyday with a positive attitude to work hard and do my job. Like I said, I’ve got a lot of great teammates [and] great coaches that do the same. The rewarding part in a team sport is that we’re all showing up together with the same goal in mind. How you work through adversity is a great thing. You’re always going to be challenged in football and in life and how you work through those things, how you communicate through them [and] how you inspire each other to be the best that you can be – that’s the best part about sports. That’s why I’m still playing.”

The Packers are a 3.5-point favorite in Sunday's game, which is scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m.

Friday, 4 a.m.

There are ghosts riding the cold winds of the frozen tundra.

They gather there in the biggest games, inviting their present-day counterparts to join them in immortality. Once more, just before kickoff, they gather beneath the scoreboard, taunting their opponents, reminding them of the domination that was.

They are Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren, and they would have Matt LaFleur take a seat beside them. They are Bart Starr and Brett Favre. They are Paul Hornung and Jimmy Taylor. They are Reggie White and Willie Davis. They are Ray Nitschke and Clay Matthews. They are Herb Adderly and LeeRoy Butler. They are Sterling Sharpe and James Lofton. They are Jerry Kramer and Forrest Gregg.

Around Wisconsin, they are comic book heroes, legends that braved the elements and the opposition, men who made a small community big, legends and folks of lore.

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Sunday, the Tampa Bay Bucs will have to contend with all of it, with a team that is trying to measure up the high standards of their predecessors. They are Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones, Davante Adams and Za'Darius Smith, and they are trouble enough without the ghosts.

On the other hand, there are the Tampa Bay Bucs.

They have Tom Brady.

When it comes to immortality, to being larger than life, that's as close as the Bucs get. Brady has 14 of these championship appearances. And never mind that he is 43, and that he is coming off a pedestrian game. Sunday's game is a classic quarterback against a classic team. If Brady is good enough, the Bucs have a shot. If he isn't, they probably do not.

Give Brady credit for this. For all of the Packers' greatness, no one has six Super Bowl rings. So, yeah, he's dealing in legacy, too.

Of course, none of those rings are with the Bucs -- at least not yet. But it gives you some idea of the stakes that surround Brady in this game.

Granted, there is more to a quarterback than winning the Super Bowl. Just ask Bucs' coach Bruce Arians.

"I go back to Dan Marino – he’s arguably the best ever and he didn’t have any [Super Bowl wins]," Arians said. "So much of it is your team [and] how good is your team? Your defense and all the football players around you – not just your quarterback. Quarterbacks get all the laurels and the blame and so do the coaches. This is the ultimate team sport and I just happened to be standing on the opposite sideline of the last Super Bowl that [Aaron Rodgers] won. He played really, really well.”

Granted, it isn't just the quarterback. But the ball is usually in his hands.

“Most of the time when you get to championship games, it’s these kind of guys that are playing in them," said Bucs' offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. "It’s hard to get here. The quarterback has so much to do with getting to these type of games. Really, in NFC Championships, you really have two really good quarterbacks playing at a high level and that’s probably why both teams are there playing in that game. Obviously, these are two of the greats – two of the best to ever do it. We’re really just getting ready, though. We’re just really getting ready [and] trying to prepare ourselves to get ready for a tough defense – a defense that has a lot of really good players on it, a defense that has been playing lights out. We’re just trying to do what we can to prepare ourselves this week to get ready to play [on] Sunday.”

Much of the season has been spent with analysts talking about what Brady still has or does not. But the primary thing he has brought to Tampa Bay is simple.

“I think leadership," Leftwich said. "Leadership and his ability to get his team in these types of games. He’s been in a lot of these games, as we all know. He’s played in a lot of these championship games and it starts, really, with his leadership from day one. Making sure that everybody understands the importance of why we do everything day in and day out to give ourselves an opportunity to be in these types of moments. I just think the leadership that he brings to our team [and] the awareness that he has from being in these moments [and] being in these situations is something that we have benefitted from greatly.”

The thing is, Brady has proven he can still play, too. Just ask longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski.

“When you protect him and you give him the time, I think it gives him the ability to make the best decision for the team," Gronkowski said. "I feel like when he has time back there – he’ll hold onto the ball for sure when he has time – but when he’s sitting back there, he’s relaxed and he knows he’s not being pressured, I feel like it gives him the best opportunity to make the best decision on where the ball should go, on who should get the ball, on where the pass should be, on what coverage to read and all of that. It’s huge to keep him clean [and] it’s huge to give him time. Just overall, I feel like any team that gives their quarterback time, it gives them the best chance to win, so we’ve got to stay on that. We’ve got to stay on top of our game in that aspect and we’ve got to keep giving him time so he can get that ball out.”

Add them all together: The talent of the Packers, and the home field, and the weather, and the history, and the revenge factor (the Bucs pounded the Packers in the regular season). It all will be difficult for the Bucs to overcome.

On the other side, there is Brady.

And with him, there is hope.

The game begins at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday.