The New Orleans Saints won the bid and postponed, putting the ball in the hands of Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady to start the game.
The Buccaneers started with a delivery to the running back Leonard Fournette who took them to a couple. The completion of tight end Cam Brate would give Bucs the third and short term, when Brady would go on air for tight end Rob Gronkowski. The ball escaped his fingers and the Bucs were forced to kick.
New Orleans, for its part, started hot immediately with a 54-yard punt return by Deonte Harris that placed the Saints right in the Buccaneer territory. A questionable personal foul penalty over Jordan Whitehead would give New Orleans the first and the goal, but the defense would rise and prevent them, making the score 3-0 with 11:30 left in the first quarter.
The Bucs would suffer another three-and-out after a big serve from Brady in the third fall and six. The punt was returned once again by Deonte Harris, who took him to the end zone before a flag in New Orleans for an illegal block in the back brought the ball back to the 30-yard line.
It was a long journey for New Orleans, spanning 12 plays for 46 yards at 5:07, but they were paralyzed on the 24-yard line, thanks in part to a passing break on linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul’s third down. Santos contented themselves with another basket kick, this one from 42, to make the score 6-0, with 4:39 to go to the first quarter.
Tampa Bay covered the entire length of the field on his next trip and finally made it into Santos territory. They would reach the New Orleans eight-yard line before stopping. Kicker Ryan Succop was good at 26 yards and the Bucs cut the Saints’ lead in half, 6-3, with 12:57 to go in the second quarter.
The Saints started driving again, but this time, they wouldn’t be able to capitalize on any points because cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting focused on coverage and hit Drew Brees. He returned the ball almost to the end zone, but was scored on the three-yard line. The first move in the attack was a dart for wide receiver Mike Evans in the end zone and the Bucs took the lead 10-6, with 11:16 to go in the second quarter.
The leadership was short-lived, as the Saints decided to use some tricks on the next trip. Former Buccaneers quarterback, Jameis Winston, checked in and it was Kamara who took a direct hit. He passed the ball to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who then shot to Winston, who THEN threw it 56 yards to Tre’Quan Smith for the touchdown. This put the Saints back at 13-10 in the middle of the second half.
The Bucs took control, but fired on the next shot and would end up throwing again, handing the ball back to the Saints with six and a half minutes left in the lock.
This time, the defense would force another Saints punt before they could do anything. They recovered the ball for the Bucs’ attack with two and a half minutes to work before the break.
The Bucs’ attack reached the field, but was stopped after a false start penalty. Brady almost put Godwin in the end zone on the second down and 15 on the Saints’ 29-yard line, but the ball bounced when Godwin hit the ground. Third to 15 and Brady got a few more yards thanks to Brate, who took the Bucs to 19 in New Orleans. From there, Succop kicked the field goal for 37 yards and the two teams entered the first half tied at 13.
It took over five minutes and ten moves, but the Saints measured 75 yards in their first attempt at the second half. It ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith in his second of the night, giving the Saints a 20-13 lead with 9:43 remaining in the third.
The Bucs would not be able to respond, and instead, there were three and left on the next trip. They took a few minutes off the clock and handed the ball over to New Orleans, with just under seven minutes to go before the third period ended.
The Tampa Bay defense would come again on the next trip. Just as the Saints were gaining momentum, Brees hit the tight end Jared Cook in the middle, who fired with the ball. Safety rookie Antoine Winfield Jr., who narrowly missed an interception in the previous move, then snatched the ball out of Cook’s hand, where it was recovered by linebacker Devin White. He returned 18 yards, placing the Bucs in a privileged scoring position.
It would take a few moves, but the Bucs’ attack was able to hit the third and five on the six-yard line when Brady hit Fournette for the touchdown, drawing the game at 20 with two and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Despite yet another questionable call made by the Santos, Buccaneer’s defense remained firm in the next charge. They forced New Orleans to kick thanks to the consecutive passing breaks of Jamel Dean and Ross Cockrell. The Bucs’ attack recovered the ball with only 44 seconds left for the third.
They achieved a very well-balanced shot thanks to Jones and a tremendous reception from wide receiver Tyler Johnson and would come as close as the Saints’ 18-yard line. They would have to settle for the field goal, but the 36 yard shot would give the Bucs a 23-20 lead. 9:52 to enter the game.
The next ball possession would end abruptly again for the Saints, as none other than Devin White hit Brees in second for eighth position, returning her 28 yards. Buccaneer’s attack then capitalized, punching Brady’s quarterback goalkeeper to rise 30-20 with 4:57 remaining in the game.
Then, another great defense play when the ball was lifted into the air in a shot from Brees to Cook and Mike Edwards went down with it. This returned the ball to the Bucs and a few first defeats later, they were able to kneel three times in a row and win the trip to the NFC Championship with a final score of 30-20 over the Saints in New Orleans.