The Buccaneers are going to the NFC Championship Game

Posted by Josh Alper on January 17, 2021, 9:51 PM EST
USA TODAY Sports

The third time was the charm for the Buccaneers.

The Bucs lost both of their regular season matchups to the Saints and they got blown out in the second one, but Sunday’s game in the Superdome went their way. Drew Brees threw three interceptions while Tom Brady threw two touchdowns and ran for another in a 30-20 win that sends the Buccaneers to the NFC Championship Game.

Green Bay will host that game, which means Brady’s first season with the Bucs will include his first postseason matchup with Aaron Rodgers. He’ll need to be sharper to make it to his 10th Super Bowl as he was just 18-of-33 for 199 yards in Sunday’s win, but he can feel good about the defense that he’ll have supporting the effort.

They also forced a fumble to win the turnover battle 4-0 and held the Saints to 294 yards to help send Brady to his 14th conference title. Devin White had a crucial interception of Brees, recovered a fumble, and led the team in tackles to spearhead the defensive effort.

A report from Jay Glazer of FOX Sports before the game indicated Brees will retire once the Saints are eliminated from the playoffs. Brees will surely be asked about that when he meets with reporters after a game that provided evidence that the end may well be at hand. He was 19-of-34 for 134 yards and could not threaten the Bucs defense down the field.

If Brees is done, it will touch off an interesting offseason in New Orleans as they decide how to move forward without the franchise’s longtime icon. The Bucs will have at least one more game to play before their offseason and a win next week would mean they’re playing at home in the Super Bowl.

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20 responses to “The Buccaneers are going to the NFC Championship Game”

  1. I am old enough to remember when Tampa Bay / Green Bay games were called “The Bay of Pigs”

  2. Congrats to Tom Brady and farewell to Drew Brees. while it would have been a nice fairy tale ending to see brees hoist the Lombardi, Tampa Bay has a more realistic shot of beating Green Bay in The Battle of The bays.

  3. Has anyone gotten more credit for winning as little as Brees and Payton? The media loves them, it’s an all-time great QB and a coach who the media treats like one of the greatest minds in football, but over all of those years all of their accomplishments add up to one Super Bowl appearance and win. Lots of regular season points, lots of playoff failure.

    With Brees now retiring, the Saints currently $95 million over the projected cap for 2021, and a major rebuild about to have to take place, does Payton actually stick around?

  5. No love lost for Brees’ final game. The Saints have been a cheating organization for years and I’m glad to see them lose.

  7. If this was Brees’ last game, sorry it ended the way it did although he looks ready to walk away.

    And Jared Cook has always been a loser.

  8. Drew Brees blew it. His picks cost the Saints the game. Brady capitalized on all of them despite looking off. Bucs Defense looks good Green Bay better hope they don’t look as bad as last time.

  9. Gotta hand it to Brees. He’s a legend and he carved out a hall of fame career despite not having the physical tools that a lot of other great QB’s have been blessed with.

    Drew, you were the only thing I didn’t hate about the New Orleans Saints. I wish you well in your retirement, sir. May it be a long, happy retirement surrounded by family.

  10. I can’t think of a more fitting end for the Drew Brees saints era after the excuses of previous seasons than losing to Tom Brady whilst having a better team, coaching, and favourable ref calls

  11. Been saints fan since 1960s, but the saints high power offense has been absent for the past 2 years. Was hoping the rest of the team talent could carry Brees to one more superbowl but the multitudes of injuries sealed their fate. Now to deal with salary cap decimation.

  12. For whatever reason the Saint’s since winning the Super Bowl early in the Bree’s/Payton union have probably been the worst at wasting fantastic regular seasons with horrendous postseasons, three in a row at home now and counting.. Curse of Gregg Williams strike again, who says Karma isn’t real

  13. Well, whether he retires or not, he’s finished. That was a sad, almost embarrassing final effort. His ability to throw the ball more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage with any accuracy whatsoever is utterly non-existent. And tonight showed that time after time after time.

    He can stick around if they’ll let him, but he is absolutely washed up.

  14. Remember when people were saying Cam Newton was an upgrade over Tom Brady for the Pats? Remember when these same people were saying Bill Belichick “genius” will ensure Pats will win SB with Cam Newton? Where are they now???

  15. Sad to see Brees go out like this. Would have loved to see him win a few more games this season especially would have loved seeing him beat Tom Brady one more time.

  16. Boy, that Bill Belichick fella is a frickin’ GENIUS!

    He decided that Tom Brady was washed up, finished, the gas gauge is reading “E”.

    I guess he really showed Brady, huh?

    Go, Tom. Beat Green Bay (again!), get to the Super Bowl, and at 43 years old, beat Mahomes or Allen, and win your SEVENTH Super Bowl, while Bill is watching from home!

    Show the old grump how washed up you really are!

  17. “Drew Brees blew it.”
    Yes it was his fault that Kamara ran the wrong route on the second pick, and Cook let the third pick pass through his hands and deflect off his shoulder.
    Brees didn’t have a great game, but several Saints had costly mistakes that led to this outcome.

  18. Cam Newton, given his running ability, was an ‘upgrade.’ That offence was still going to stink regardless if Brady stayed there. The WRs and TEs were probably amongst the worst in the NFL this year, and their RBs were nothing special. Newton’s athleticism was the only new wrinkle to that offence from 2019 that gave them some brief flashes of hope. They may have won one or two more games this year with Brady, but that Patriots team wasn’t going to the playoffs regardless who was playing behind the centre. That was a depleted roster; the years of bad drafts, and opt outs by key players finally caught up with them.
    Brady showed his smarts by getting out of that situation, and not wasting one of the precious few years he has left in his career.

  19. All credit for the Bucs defense that really turned it on in the second half. But the coaching on the offense is appalling. Right back to the stupid formula of always running on first down, hardly any motion or play action, no creativity, long passes on third and short. That offense fails to take advantage of what Brady brings to the table and is way too readable and predictable against elite teams. Arians and Leftwich sure seem to be slow learners.

  20. While I like and respect what Brees has done in his career, ESPECIALLY as a smallish QB, clearly Brady is and always will be “the GOAT!” Go beat Green Bay, again, now Tom. Then win your 7th ring, while the hoody Grinch sits home watching from his easy chair. If ever there was any doubt as to the real reason as to why the Pats were so successful during Brady’s years in New England, this year certainly helped clarify it. Brady without Belichick is still winning playoff games, while BB without Brady is not even IN the playoffs. And it was a good DAY for OLD former MICHIGAN QBs yesterday. Brady’s Bucs beat the Saints and Chad Henne saved a win for the Chiefs after Mahomes went down. Not too many other schools had QBs whose teams won two playoff games yesterday. GO BLUE!

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