For Tom Brady, this is old hat (or old helmet?). The quarterback is playing in his 14th championship game.
Eighteen seasons, his teams have made the postseason, and only three of those times did Brady not win at least one playoff game.
But this is a new experience for these Buccaneers.
The franchise is in the conference championship game for the first time since 2002. In fact, they had played only 15 postseason games in franchise history before Brady’s arrival.
The Bucs are along for Brady’s ride.
“He’s the greatest player to ever play the game,” Evans said. “You add him on any roster, and I’m sure the outcome would be somewhat like this. He always gets his team to the playoffs. He’s a winner. He’s a natural-born winner, leader, all that. At this point in his career, he’s just playing chess, and we’re definitely very happy he’s on our side.”