The Buccaneers signed quarterback Tom Brady this offseason for moments like this: going head-to-head with a New Orleans Saints team that has had relentless control in the NFC South, to get Tampa Bay back in the postseason for the first time in 13 years and become the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl in his hometown.
The Ships are one step closer to completing this trilogy.
In the second stop of a playoff odyssey that began as a wild card on the road (the first in Brady’s 21-year career), Tampa Bay defeated Sunday night 30-20 in New Orleans. The Saints had swept the Bucs in the regular season, beating them by 46 points in two games.
Next: Lambeau Field, against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game. It will be Brady’s 14th conference title game and the Bucs ’fourth, after recently defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on the road to winning Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
Against the Saints, Brady completed 18 of 33 passes from 199 yards, two touchdowns through the air, one on the ground and no interceptions. He is now 3-5 against the Saints quarterback Drew Brees, though the defense and ground play told the story. The Saints often lined up with deep safety, focusing on preventing big plays on the field of play.
Bucs runners Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones combined for 169 yards of the fight. Saints receiver Michael Thomas was held back without a hitch and the Bucs got three meals to take home that caused touchdowns.
Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting picked up Brees on a pass to Thomas in the second quarter, returning her 36 yards to New Orleans ’3-yard line. Bucs receiver Mike Evans then scored the possession with a 3-yard touchdown: his first catch of the season against Saints corner Marshon Lattimore.
Then in the third quarter, Bucs rookie Antoine Winfield Jr. discarded the ball from the hands of Saints tight end Jared Cook with Bucs defender Devin White picking it up and returning it. 18 yards. Fournette took a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady on a sloping path.
In the fourth quarter, White caught Brees on a pass to New Orleans ’Alvin Kamara, with Brady holding him with a 1-yard score. Later, Mike Edwards, Bucs ‘safe, took a pass from Brees that was tipped over by Lavonte David, Bucs’ defender.
Although Sunday marked Brady’s 14th win in a divisional playoff game, it was only his second road victory, in his first season in the NFC.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said his players fed on having fans at his stadium Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams, in a game in which MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers performed for all the ages against the league’s No. 1 defense.
Before Adams, the great receiver, he even proclaimed, “No one can stop us.”
However, the Bucs did, in Week 6, impress the Packers 38-10 at home, firing Rodgers four times, intercepting him twice and keeping the Packers on a low season touchdown.
That same Packers team scored Saturday in each of its first five possessions, in Rodgers ’eighth playoff game in which he was responsible for at least three touchdowns, passing Brett Favre for the third most in the history of the United States. NFL.
The Bucs got a certain history of their own 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 dragged by them to the regular season.
Brady has a 9-4 run in league championship games, but is 3-3 in these road games. Brady has also been 4-2 against the Packers and 1-1 at Lambeau, while Rodgers has lost three consecutive conference championships.