The Buccaneers have signed full-back Tom Brady for such moments: to go head-to-head with a New Orleans Saints team that has gripped the NFC South incessantly, around Tampa Bay for the first time in the national season to get back in 13 years, and to become the first team in NFL history to host a hometown Super Bowl.
The Bucs are a step away from completing the trilogy.
In the second stop of a playoff odyssey that began as a wild card on the road – a first in Brady’s 21-year career – Tampa Bay defeated New Orleans 30-20 Sunday night. The Saints swept the Bucs in the regular season, outscoring them by 46 points in two games.
Next: Lambeau Field, vs. the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. This will be Brady’s 14th conference title game and the Bucs’ fourth, after they recently defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on their way to winning Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
Against the Saints, Brady completed 18 of the 33 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns, one on the ground and no interception. He is now 3-5 against Srew’s fullback Drew Brees, although the defense and the ground game have told the story. The Saints regularly drew up a deep safety series and focused on preventing major plays in the field.
The backs of the Bucs, Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, jointly stretched 169 yards from the game. Saints receiver Michael Thomas was detained without a catch, and the Bucs received three takeaways that led to touchdown.
Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting picked Brees on a pass intended for Thomas in the second quarter, returning it 36 yards to the New Orleans 3-yard line. After that, Bucs receiver Mike Evans settled the possession with a three-yard touchdown – his first catch of the season against Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
In the third quarter, Bucs newcomer Antoine Winfield Jr. removed the ball from Sared’s Jared Cook, with Bucs linebacker Devin White picking it up and returning 18 yards. Fournette then gets a 6-yard pass from Brady on an oblique route.
In the fourth quarter, White Brees picked on a pass meant for Alvin Kamara of New Orleans, with Brady holding it for a 1-yard touchdown run. Later, Bucs safety Mike Edwards selected a pass from Brees that was tipped by Lavonte David, Bucs’ linebacker.
While Sunday was Brady’s 14th win in a playoff game for the division, it was only his second division victory on the road, in his first season in the NFC.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said how much his players had enough to have fans in the stadium against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, in a game in which Aaron Rodgers, a favorite for the MVP, performed for centuries against the defense of the league’s number 1.
Wide receiver Davante Adams even exclaimed, “No one can stop us.”
However, the Bucs surprised the Packers 38-10 at home in Week 6, firing Rodgers four times, intercepting twice and keeping the Packers at a season-low once.
The same Packers team passed on each of its first five possessions on Saturday in Rodgers’ eighth playoff game in which he was responsible for at least three times, and Brett Favre won for the third most in NFL history.
The Bucs made a history of their own on Sunday, becoming the ninth team in NFL history and the first since the New York Giants in 2007 to defeat an opponent in the playoffs after being swept by them in the regular season is.
Brady is a 9-4 career in league championship games, but he is 3-3 in the games on the road. Brady is also 4-2 at full-time against the Packers and 1-1 at Lambeau, while Rodgers has lost three consecutive conference championships.