CAMERON JORDAN

Tom Brady only knows one way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can pull out of a season-long funk on offense and realize their potential.

There’s a fine line between a Tom Brady and a Gale Sayers.

Despite playing without coach Sean Payton on the sideline, the Saints (7-7) beat the Bucs (10-4) for the seventh straight time during the regular season — fourth since Brady left New England for Tampa Bay in 2020. The victory gave New Orleans a sweep of the season series between the NFC South rivals and boosted the Saints into playoff position. It also forced Tampa Bay to wait at least one another week to clinch its first division crown since 2007. With defensive coordinator Dennis Allen standing in for Payton, who missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19, the Saints stymied the NFL’s No. ... WRs Chris Godwin (knee) and Mike Evans (hamstring) left in the second quarter, Godwin after taking a hard hit from Saints CB P.J.

New Orleans’ defense gave Tom Brady fits again, shutting down Tampa Bay’s high-powered offense as the Saints put the Buccaneers’ division title celebration plans on hold with a 9-0 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

New Orleans’ defense gave Tom Brady fits again, shutting down Tampa Bay’s high-powered offense as the Saints put the Buccaneers’ division title celebration plans on hold with a 9-0 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Josh Allen passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns, Buffalo’s defense stifled New Orleans’ short-handed offense and the Bills rolled to a 31-6 victory that sent the injury-ravaged Saints to their fourth straight loss.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared to have all of the advantages when Saints quarterback Jameis Winston went down with a second-quarter knee injury.

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Brian Johnson kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in his NFL debut, and the New Orleans Saints capitalized on a series of Seattle mistakes for a 13-10 win over the Seahawks.

The Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9 to win the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)TAMPA, Fla. – Tom Brady went to social media again to highlight the successful season of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints defeated the Bucs twice in the regular season, but Tampa Bay beat New Orleans in the playoffs. After Jordan’s comments, the video displays headlines from newspapers showing Tampa Bay did not have a chance to win Super Bowl 55. Brady and the Bucs defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 on Feb. 7.

Two days after Brees' 42nd birthday, his 20th NFL season ended with statistically his worst playoff performance. “There are obviously so many incredible memories and so many incredible relationships that have come as a result of playing this game,” Brees continued. Absolutely.”Brees said the way this season ended “won't have anything to do” with his decision on whether to retire. “He’s been everything you could imagine a leader could be,” said Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, Brees' teammate since 2011. “He’s a great teammate, a great leader, a great man, a great husband and a great father,” Davis added.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts after a touchdown by Alvin Kamara in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)NEW ORLEANS – Drew Brees periodically discusses his long, extraordinary NFL journey in terms of fate and destiny. “Other than that, there’s not a lot of bad about” the Saints, Brady said. I think the quarterback-receiver relationship is really important.”Still, no defense has had more success against Brady this season than the Saints. The Saints gained 2,265 yards rushing during the regular season and added another 123 yards in their playoff opener against Chicago's formidable front.

Jomal Wiltz #33 of the Miami Dolphins tackles Antonio Williams #35 of the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter at Bills Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig)ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills were intent on not easing into the playoffs, while ending the Miami Dolphins' chances. The Dolphins (10-6) didn’t get results they needed earlier in the day after Cleveland beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore routed Cincinnati. And the team unraveled in all three phases in being exposed by a Bills team showing no signs of relenting in racking up the second-most points in team history. “It just shows that this is a different Buffalo Bills football team.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The victory kept the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (13-1) in pole position to capture the AFC's lone playoff bye as a No. Mahomes' second TD toss looked more like a basketball assist, a chest-pass to tight end Travis Kelce cutting behind blockers for a 1-yard score. With two timeouts remaining, the Saints kicked deep, but could not prevent Mahomes and Co. from running out the clock. Saints: Receiver Tre'Quan Smith and safety Marcus Williams each left with ankle injuries in the second half.

(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)In this strangest of NFL seasons in this weirdest of years, here's a matchup of division leaders you wouldn't expect: Seattle hosting the New York Giants. “If you win your division, you win your division,” Carroll says, and he knows: Seattle went 7-9 in 2010 and won the NFC West, then beat New Orleans in a playoff game. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for at least 300 yards seven times this season and has 22 straight games with at least one TD passing. New England has won the past five meetings, including a 2018 divisional playoff game. Chargers WR Keenan Allen leads the NFL with 85 receptions and has a TD catch in five straight games.

Bucs’ Tom Brady is 43 and Saints’ Drew Brees 41. Brees leads both categories with 77,416 yards and 547 TDs, followed by Brady with 74,571 yards, 541 TDs. In five career starts vs. Saints, Brady has thrown for 286.6 yards per game, 11 total TDs and three INTs. ... Brees passed for 2,979 yards with 27 TDs vs. career-low four INTs for career-high 116.3 rating last season. ... All-Pro WR Michael Thomas led Saints last season with NFL single-season record 149 catches for 1,725 yards, nine TDs.