GREEN BAY, Wis. — Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes to set the Bucs up with a 28-10 lead early in the second half, but the Bucs are going to the Super Bowl on their home field because their defense stepped up and stopped the Packers in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-26 win at Lambeau Field.
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Brady struggled uncharacteristically in the second half, throwing interceptions on three straight possessions, after throwing just one during a six-game win streak entering Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers converted the first one for a touchdown to pull within five points of Tampa Bay, but the Bucs kept them out of the end zone the rest of the night.
“They played incredible,” Brady said of his defense, which forced two turnovers and came up with a key red-zone stop in the final three minutes. “I thought the defense was spectacular, and they’ve been that way all year. They have a great front, great linebackers, and they play their butts off in the secondary. Some guys went down with injuries and other guys stepped in. It was an incredible effort by the defense, and what they did today was amazing against, really, an incredible offense.”
As was the case in their 38-10 win in the regular season, the Bucs defense got to Rodgers in two key areas where very few opponents got to him in 2020: sacks and turnovers. He threw as many interceptions (three) in his two games against Tampa Bay as he did in the other 16 games combined. And though the Packers allowed just 16 sacks total in their other 16 games, they gave up 10 in two games to the Bucs. On Sunday, the Bucs had five, with Shaq Barrett getting three and Jason Pierre-Paul two.
“We knew there is no better time to be great,” Barrett said. “There is no better time to be the defense we want to be than right now, so we just took the challenge. We knew our offense was going to do what they needed to do. When we need help, they bail us out. When they need help, we bail them out. That’s why we’re playing so well right now.”
The defensive surge started before the half, when cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted Rodgers, giving him a pick in each of his first three playoff games. That led to a touchdown just before halftime and a 21-10 lead, and on the opening drive of the second half, safety Jordan Whitehead forced a Packers fumble that linebacker Devin White returned to the 8-yard line, setting up another touchdown.
“That’s a big thing we’ve been working on all year is getting turnovers, and we’re making it happen,” said Whitehead, who injured his shoulder on the play and missed the rest of the game.
PLAYMAKER 💯
📺: https://t.co/RwWO3cpuWt pic.twitter.com/2fQN2wNREH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 24, 2021
The Bucs were already without one starting safety, as rookie Antoine Winfield missed the game with an ankle injury, so the Bucs had backup safeties Mike Edwards and Andrew Adams in the game the rest of the way against the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense.
When Brady threw his second interception (off of Mike Evans’ hands) with 12:20 left, the Bucs defense stepped up, with Barrett sacking Rodgers on third down for a three-and-out. Three plays later, Brady did it again, putting the defense back on the field with the game on the line again. Barrett sacked Rodgers for no gain on first down, then the defense forced two incompletions for another quick punt.
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The Packers had one more big drive, down eight points, and Rodgers drove Green Bay to the Bucs’ 8-yard line in five plays. This was where the Packers were at their best this season, as the NFL’s No. 1 red-zone offense, getting touchdowns on 80 percent of trips inside the opposing 20-yard line. They ranked No. 2 in goal-to-go offense, scoring touchdowns on 90 percent of their opportunities.
But the Bucs got Rodgers to miss three times — once, throwing behind receiver Allen Lazard, then twice missing on throws to Davante Adams, who caught 20 touchdowns from Rodgers this season. The third-down stop, with Adams in coverage, led to Green Bay’s decision to settle for a field goal, allowing the Bucs offense to close out the win.
“We never budged. We never flinched at all,” Pierre-Paul said. “We just played tremendous football, and look where we’re at. It doesn’t matter how many picks Tom throws, the defense has his back. That’s how we played. I feel like a group of brothers, when they sync, it’s unstoppable.”
At the end of the first half, the Bucs defense had done the same thing as Green Bay drove all the way to the 6, only to have Rodgers throw incomplete three times in a row, so instead of a tying touchdown, they cut the lead to 14-10. An offense that converted 90 percent of goal-to-go opportunities went just 2-for-4 in the biggest game of its season.
Tampa Bay’s defense, which ranked No. 1 against the run in the regular season, got a lift with the healthy return of defensive tackle Vita Vea, who played for the first time since fracturing his ankle in a Week 5 loss to the Bears. Vea didn’t have a tackle but keyed a run defense that held Green Bay’s running game — which went for 188 yards on the Rams last week — to just 67 yards, one more than their low in 18 games this season.
So five months ago, the Bucs, Lightning, Rays had been the their league championship/finals a combined four times in their history. Now they've all three gone in the same season. Potentially two championships, with a home Super Bowl. Amazing run for Tampa Bay sports.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 25, 2021
The defense will have its hands full in the Super Bowl in two weeks, facing a potent offense from Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Chiefs, who beat the Bills on Sunday night. But far from home at Lambeau Field, short-handed and facing a potent offense, the Bucs got game-clinching plays from their defense on the way to their third straight road playoff victory.
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“I can’t say enough about them,” Arians said about his defense. “They’ve been great in the fourth quarter all year and we got some great stops.”
Arians’ priority in the offseason, before the Bucs ever got Brady or any other high-profile addition, was keeping his defensive front together, knowing the Bucs could win with that unit. The Bucs are now the first team to play a Super Bowl on their home field, but Barrett said they want to be more than that.
“It’s crazy that we’re the first team to do it — making history. That’s not where history has to end,” he said. “We could be the first team to win it, as well, and that’s the key. We’ve just got to get back ready to work. It’s crazy, like this has never been done before and we’re doing it. It’s amazing. It’s an amazing feeling. I’m happy to be a part of it. I’m happy that everyone who’s (in) this organization is a part of it. . . . I just love it here, I love them and I’m happy that we’re doing it together.”
(Photo of Shaq Barrett and Devin White: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)