Tom Brady's Bucs oust Drew Brees' Saints, reach NFC Championship Game

The two old warhorses are in the twilight of their careers, nearing the end after producing Hall of Fame-caliber brilliance unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

Tom Brady and Drew Brees, who collectively own just about every meaningful quarterback record there is, faced each other for the first (and most likely the only) time in the playoffs Sunday, placing an exclamation point on their legendary runs.

They no longer are what they once were, with Father Time chipping away at their arm strength and their accuracy. But they were good enough to put on a duel worthy of their competitive souls . . . until one of them finally cracked.

Brees, 42, playing perhaps his final NFL game, had three critical interceptions. The second one allowed the 43-year-old Brady to put the Buccaneers ahead by 10 points with less than five minutes to go, and the third one clinched the win as Tampa Bay beat Brees’ New Orleans Saints, 30-20, at the Superdome.

The Bucs earned a trip to Green Bay for next Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, which will be Brady’s 14th conference title game. The most accomplished quarterback in playoff history will take on arguably the best quarterback in today’s NFL when Brady goes against Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field.

The winner will reach Super Bowl LV in Tampa against the winner of the AFC Championship Game between host Kansas City and Buffalo.

"It’s great for our team," said Brady, who was 18-for-33 for 199 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. "We worked hard to get to this point. We’ve got to go against a great football team, one we know really well. Aaron’s playing great."

Brady didn’t want to speak for Brees about the possibility of the Saints’ quarterback retiring, but the two shared an embrace after the game. Brees left the field blowing kisses to his family and, before entering the tunnel toward the locker room, took one look back at the stadium where he has starred for so long.

Was it one last look?

"I’m going to give myself an opportunity to think about the season, just like I did last season, and make a decision," said Brees, who was 19-for-34 for 134 yards and a touchdown.

Asked if he had any regrets about playing in 2020 after weighing retirement, Brees said there were none. "No complaints. No regrets," he said. "I’ve always tried to play this game with a great respect and a great reverence for it. I appreciate all that this game has given to me."

Brees hit wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith with a 16-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the second half to give the Saints a 20-13 lead. Smith made a spinning catch on a back-shoulder throw.

But the Buccaneers tied it at 20 with 2:22 left in the third quarter after a costly turnover by Saints tight end Jared Cook, who was stripped of the ball by Antoine Winfield Jr. after catching a pass near midfield. Brady took care of the rest, driving the Bucs 40 yards and finishing it off with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Leonard Fournette.

With the Bucs leading 23-20, Brees melted down with two fourth-quarter interceptions. The first was by linebacker Devin White on a pass intended for Alvin Kamara, setting up Brady’s 1-yard touchdown run to make it 30-20. Brees then was intercepted by safety Mike Edwards on a pass that deflected off Cook’s hands.

New Orleans had won the regular-season opener at home and then demolished the Bucs, 38-3, in Tampa. But Brady was good enough on this night to earn another shot at a Super Bowl ring. He won six of them during a remarkable 20-year career with the Patriots, and after he was granted his wish to play elsewhere, Brady’s three-year deal with the Buccaneers has gotten off to as good a start as anyone could have imagined.

Brees, who led the Saints to their only Super Bowl win after the 2009 season, was good enough early to keep the Saints in it. The score was tied at 13 at halftime, with Brees and Brady both throwing interceptions.

The Brees turnover was the costliest, however, as his short pass in the right flat that was intended for Michael Thomas was picked off by Sean Murphy-Bunting at the Saints’ 39. He ran down the sideline to the 3, giving Brady an easy chance to convert the turnover into a touchdown.

He did just that on the next play, hitting Mike Evans on a slant route to the left, as Evans beat tight coverage by cornerback Marshon Lattimore. That gave the Bucs their first lead of the game, 10-6, as Brady added to his playoff-record total of 76 touchdown passes.

The Saints answered the touchdown with one of their own, driving 70 yards and scoring on a trick play that had the Bucs’ defense completely fooled.

The Saints didn’t have the services of backup quarterback Taysom Hill, who was out with a knee injury, so coach Sean Payton went to third-string quarterback Jameis Winston, the former Bucs first-round pick who signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Saints this season.

Kamara lined up as the Wildcat quarterback, with Winston lining up as a receiver to the right of the formation. Kamara took the snap and handed off to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, making it look like an end-around. But Sanders pitched to his right to Winston, who had a wide-open Tre’Quan Smith down the middle of the field. Winston heaved a perfect pass that Smith caught in stride, and he ran it in for the touchdown to put New Orleans up 13-10.

There were three lead changes before the Bucs pulled ahead 23-20. They never trailed again, getting Brady one step closer to the place where he never tires of getting: Super Bowl immortality.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”