Tom Brady stayed on course for a seventh Super Bowl success as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Drew Brees’ New Orleans Saints 30-20 in a hard-fought play-off game.
In a battle of two of the NFL’s best ever quarterbacks, Brady threw two touchdown passes and scored one himself, with Brees recording one touchdown pass as the lead swung one way and then the other.
Brady’s two touchdown passes were finished off by Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette and Tre’quan Smith scored twice for the Saints, once from a Brees pass and once from former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston for a 56-yard effort.
The decisive moment came in the fourth quarter when Brady bundled over from close range to set up an NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers on 24 January.
The AFC Championship match will be between reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills after the Chiefs gained a tense 22-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
However, the Chiefs had to survive a huge scare – and a concussion to quarterback Patrick Mahomes – to see off the Browns.
Chiefs hold on after Mahomes suffers concussion
The Chiefs had to play for most of the second half with 35-year-old back-up quarterback Chad Henne, who was playing for only the fourth time this season and in only his 11th appearance in seven years.
Last season’s champions had led 19-3 at half-time after Mahomes ran in a one-yard touchdown and then found Travis Kelce, who added a 20-yard score for the hosts.
But touchdowns from the Browns’ Jarvis Landry and Kareem Hunt set up a thrilling finale with Henne guiding the Chiefs into a championship game with the Buffalo Bills on 24 January.
Mahomes had been in top form early on, but was noticeably struggling with a toe injury in the second quarter and then in the third he was tackled by the Browns’ Mack Wilson, with Mahomes’ helmet hitting the ground.
When he tried to get to his feet, his legs were unsteady and he had to be helped by his team-mates before he was then ruled out for the rest of the game through the concussion protocols.
The Chiefs will now be hoping he is fit enough to play in the AFC Championship game next Sunday, when they have home advantage against the Bills, who defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-3.
From 0-16 to giving the reigning champions a huge scare in the play-offs
For the Browns, it has been a remarkable turnaround in the past few years as in 2016 they only won once all season and then did even worse in 2017 with a record of 0-16.
Their 48-37 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week was their first post-season victory since 1 January 1995, and they were one score away from causing a shock against the Chiefs.
With capacity at Arrowhead Stadium limited to 17,000, the home fans saw the Chiefs march down the field on their first drive, with Mahomes rushing in from one yard.
The hosts did not have to wait long for their second touchdown as Mahomes found Kelce and he did the rest, jumping over a diving Browns defensive player for a 20-yard touchdown.
The Browns, whose team included Scottish punter Jamie Gillan, had a great chance to score at the end of the first half but Rashard Higgins, when diving for the line, was tackled by the Chiefs’ Daniel Sorensen and fumbled the ball, losing possession.
However, Landry’s four-yard touchdown gave the visitors some hope and Mahomes’ enforced absence set up a potential upset.
Hunt bundled his way through the middle of the Chiefs defence to make it a five-point game.
In a thrilling finish, Henne, who threw one interception, but completed six of eight passes, came up with two vital plays in the last two minutes. Firstly, when on third and 14 and with no pass on, he sprinted on his own and dived to get it to fourth and inches and then fired a short pass for Tyreek Hill to secure the first down, which sealed the victory.
In Sunday’s second match, Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on Drew Brees’ New Orleans Saints to find out who will play the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.
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