It turns out that early playoff exits by the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were more than surprising -- they were historic, by virtue of who the teams' quarterbacks are.
The Buccaneers were knocked out of contention -- after mounting a game-tying comeback -- against the Rams thanks to a last-minute reception from Cooper Kupp and a winning field goal by Matt Gay. The loss came a day after the Packers bowed out at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
As such, the 2022 NFL conference championship games will be the first in 12 years that will not feature either Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, the SportsCenter Twitter account shared.
Back in 2010, both the Packers and Brady's New England Patriots fell short on Wild Card Weekend: the Patriots were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, while the Packers dropped a heartbreaker to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime.
What's perhaps even more interesting is that this end to a streak may be the start of a new one. After all, neither Rodgers nor Brady's NFL future is confirmed. Rodgers on Saturday was non-committal on a return to Green Bay, while retirement rumors surrounding Brady have been swirling recently.
The future of the NFL might finally be here.
