The Buccaneers hired quarterback Tom Brady this off-season for moments like this: facing a team from the New Orleans Saints who have unrelenting control at NFC South, to take Tampa Bay back into the postseason for the first time in 13 years and become the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl in their hometown.
Bucs are one step closer to completing this trilogy.
On the second stop of a playoff odyssey that started as a wild card on the road – the first in Brady’s 21-year career – Tampa Bay defeated New Orleans 30-20 on Sunday night. The Saints had beaten 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 game for the conference title and the Bucs’ fourth, after defeating 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 is now 3-5 against Saints quarterback Drew Brees, although the defense and the ground game told the story. The Saints often lined up with deep wards, focusing on preventing big moves on the field.
Bucs’ running backs, Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, combined 169 yards of scrimmage. Saints’ receiver Michael Thomas was insured and the Bucs received three takeaways that led to touchdowns.
Bucs’ cornerback, Sean Murphy-Bunting, defeated Brees on a pass to Thomas in the second quarter, returning him 36 yards from the New Orleans 3-yard line. Then Bucs receiver Mike Evans scored possession with a 3-yard touchdown – his first reception of the season against Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Then, in the third quarter, Bucs rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. dislodged the ball from Saints’ tight end Jared Cook, with linebacker Devin White’s Bucs picking it up and returning it 18 yards. Fournette then took a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady on an inclined route.
In the fourth period, White defeated Brees on a pass to New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara, with Brady keeping the 1-yard score. Later, Bucs safety Mike Edwards took a pass from Brees that was deflected by Bucs linebacker Lavonte David.
Although Sunday marked Brady’s 14th win in a division playoff game, it was only his second win on the road, in his first season on the NFC.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said how much his players fed on having fans at his stadium on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams, in a game in which MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers made a lasting performance against number one defender one from the league.
Wide receiver Davante Adams even proclaimed, “No one can stop us.”
The Bucs did, however, in week 6, stunning Packers 38-10 at home, firing Rodgers four times, intercepting him twice and holding the Packers to a touchdown, the lowest of the season.
The 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, passing Brett Favre for third place in NFL history.
The Bucs made a little history 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 away by them in the regular season.
Brady has a 9-4 career in league league games, but he has 3-3 in those road games. Brady is also 4-2 of all time against the Packers and 1-1 at Lambeau, while Rodgers lost three consecutive championships at the conference.