EditorsNote: Adds quotes, small changes throughout
Tom Brady got the best of Drew Brees when it counted most.
Brees and his New Orleans Saints teammates had beaten Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates twice in the regular season.
Over the course of their respective historic careers, Brees' team had beaten Brady's team in five of seven meetings.
But when they squared off in the playoffs for the first time, Brady threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score and Brees threw three interceptions as the visiting Buccaneers prevailed 30-20 to advance to the NFC Championship Game at Green Bay next Sunday.
"I think our defense was the key to the game," Brady told Fox Sports after the game. "We were going up against a really good defense, and they challenged us. Their defense played really well, but our defense really balled and got the turnovers that we needed.
"We locked in and played a lot better than we did the first two games. The last times we played them, we had a lot of turnovers, and today they had the turnovers. That's usually the story of football games."
Brees, who turned 42 on Friday, very nearly retired after last season and might have played his last game Sunday.
"I'm going to give myself an opportunity to think about the season," Brees said. "I'm going to think about a lot of things just like I did last year. I have no complaints, and I have no regrets."
Brady, who threw five interceptions over the first two meetings, did not turn the ball over while completing 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards. Brees, who didn't turn the ball over in the first two meetings, contributed three of the Saints four turnovers, which led to three Buccaneers' touchdowns. He completed 19 of 34 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown.
The Saints broke a halftime tie on the first possession of the third quarter when Brees threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith.
On New Orleans' next possession, Brees completed a pass to Jared Cook, who fumbled and Devin White recovered and returned to the Saints 40. That led to Brady's 6-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Fournette, tying the score at 20 with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
On Tampa Bay's next possession, Ryan Succop kicked his third field goal of the game, this one from 36 yards, for a 23-20 lead. White intercepted Brees on the Saints' ensuing possession, setting up Brady's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:57 remaining.
Mike Edwards grabbed a tipped pass from Brees for another interception on the next possession.
Deonte Harris' 54-yard punt return set up Wil Lutz's 23-yard field goal that gave the Saints a 3-0 lead after their first possession of the game. Lutz added a 42-yard field goal that increased the lead to 6-0 with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
Succop kicked a 26-yard field goal on Tampa Bay's next possession, and Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted Brees on the Saints' next possession and returned it 36 yards to the New Orleans' 3-yard-line. That set up a pass from Brady to Mike Evans on the next play, giving Tampa Bay a 10-6 lead.
Former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Smith on a trick play to give New Orleans a 13-10 lead with 8:08 left in the first half.
Brady later drove Tampa Bay to Succop's 37-yard field goal as time expired, tying the score at the break.
--Field Level Media
