The Buccaneers signed quarterback Tom Brady this off-season for moments like these: to go head-to-head with a New Orleans Saints team that has had an unwavering grip on the NFC South, to play Tampa Bay for the first time. after season to get back. 13 years, and to become the first team in NFL history to host a home city Super Bowl.
The Bucs are one step away from completing that trilogy.
In the second stop of a playoff odyssey that started as a wild card on the road – a first in Brady’s 21-year career – Tampa Bay beat New Orleans 30-20 on Sunday night. The Saints swept the Bucs in the regular season, scoring 46 runs in two games.
Next: Lambeau Field, against the Green Bay Packers in NFC Championship Game. It will be Brady’s 14th conference title game and the Bucs’ fourth, most recently beating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on their way to winning Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
Against the Saints, Brady completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns through the air, one on the ground, and no interceptions. He is now 3-5 against Saints quarterback Drew Brees, though the defense and ground game told the story. The Saints often lined up with deep protections, aimed at preventing big games on the field.
Bucs running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones combined for 169 yards of scrimmage. Saints receiver Michael Thomas was held without a catch, and the Bucs were given three takeaways that led to touchdowns.
Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting picked Brees on a pass meant for Thomas in the second quarter, bringing it back 36 yards to the New Orleans 3-yard line. Next, Bucs receiver Mike Evans underlined possession with a 3-yard touchdown – his first catch of the season against cornered Marshon Lattimore.
Then, in the third quarter, Bucs ousted rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. the ball from the hands of Saints tight end Jared Cook, with Bucs in linebacker Devin White scooping it up and bringing it back 18 yards. Fournette then caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady on a sloping route.
In the fourth quarter, White took Brees on a pass intended for Alvin Kamara from New Orleans, while Brady held it for a 1-yard score. Later, Bucs safety Mike Edwards took a pass from Brees that was tipped off by Bucs linebacker Lavonte David.
While Sunday marked Brady’s 14th win in a division playoff game, it was only his second division road victory, in his first season in the NFC.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said how much his players have fed on fans in their stadium against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, in a match that saw MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers put on an all-time outing against the league’s No. 1 defense.
Wide receiver Davante Adams even exclaimed, “No one can stop us.”
However, the Bucs managed to overwhelm the Packers 38-10 at home in week 6, firing Rodgers four times, intercepting him twice, and holding the Packers to a season-low one touchdown.
That same Packers team scored on each of its first five possessions Saturday, in Rodgers’ eighth playoff game in which he was responsible for at least three touchdowns, passing Brett Favre for third place in NFL history.
The Bucs made some history of their own Sunday, becoming the ninth team in NFL history and the first since the New York Giants in 2007 to beat an opponent in the playoffs after being swept by them in the regular season.
Brady has a career of 9-4 in league games, but he is 3-3 in those games on the road. Brady is also 4-2 all time against the Packers and 1-1 at Lambeau, while Rodgers has lost three consecutive conference championships.