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The Buccaneers have signed quarterback Tom Brady this offseason for times like this: to take on a New Orleans Saints team that had a relentless grip on the NFC South, to bring Tampa Bay back to the playoffs for the first time. in 13 years and become the first team in NFL history to host a local Super Bowl.
The Bucs are about to complete this trilogy.
In the second leg of a playoff odyssey that started off 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 had swept the Bucs in the regular season, edging them 46 points in two games.
Next up: Lambeau Field, against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. This will be Brady’s 14th conference title game and the Bucs’ fourth, having defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on the road to win Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
Against the Saints, Brady completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns in the air, one on the ground and no interceptions. He’s now 3-5 against Saints quarterback Drew Brees, though both defense and the ground game told the tale. The Saints frequently lined up with deep securities, focusing on preventing big games downstream.
Bucs running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones combined for 169 yards of scrimmage. Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was held without a catch, and the Bucs got three takeaways that led to touchdowns.
Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting pushed Brees back on a pass to Thomas in the second quarter, returning 36 yards to the New Orleans 3-yard line. Then Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans punctuated possession with a 3-yard touchdown – his first catch of the season against Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Then in the third quarter, Bucs rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. dislodged the ball from the hands of Saints tight end Jared Cook, with Bucs inside linebacker Devin White picking it up and sending it back 18 yards. Fournette then caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady on a slant.
In the fourth quarter, White beat Brees off with a pass to Alvin Kamara of New Orleans, Brady keeping him for a score of 1 yard. Bucs safety Mike Edwards later landed a pass from Brees that was tilted by Bucs linebacker Lavonte David.
As Sunday marked Brady’s 14th win in a divisional playoff game, it was only his second division road win, in his debut season in the NFC.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said how much his players enjoyed having fans in their stadium on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams, in a game in which MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers gave a performance. for the ages against the # 1 league defense.
Wide receiver Davante Adams even proclaimed, “No one can stop us”.
However, the Bucs did so in Week 6, stunning the Packers 38-10 at home, sacking Rodgers four times, intercepting it twice and holding the Packers to a season-low touchdown.
That same Packers team scored in each of their first five possessions on Saturday, in Rodgers’ eighth playoff game in which he was responsible for at least three touchdowns, overtaking Brett Favre for third in NFL history.
The Bucs made a story 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 wiped out by them in the regular season.
Brady is a career 9-4 in League Championship games, but he’s 3-3 in those road games. Brady is also 4-2 all-time against the Packers and 1-1 at Lambeau, while Rodgers have lost three consecutive conference championships.
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