Brady vs. Brees: Bucs to face Saints in divisional round

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It’s official. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints will once again face off for a third time this season, but it will be the first time Tom Brady and Drew Brees will play against each other in a playoff.

New Orleans hasn’t exactly been easy on Brady and the Bucs. The Saints beat them twice this season – first by 11 points and more recently by 35.

Brees joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre and the legendary Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to win a playoff game after the age of 40. Brees turns 42 on Friday and is widely expected to retire after this season.

Earlier this year, both became the first starting quarterbacks over 40 to go head-to-head. On Sunday, they’ll be the oldest to face off in a playoff game.

Over the weekend, the first tripleheader of NFL wild-card games saw Brady extend his postseason record for victories to 31 with a 31-23 win for Tampa Bay at Washington on Saturday. Brady was the key to New England winning six Super Bowls and making nine overall, and now he has taken the Buccaneers (12-5) to their first playoff victory since their 2002 run to the NFL title. 

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Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in his 42nd postseason start and first not in a New England uniform.

But Tampa Bay’s defense got leaky and Washington’s unheralded Taylor Heinicke, in his second pro start in place of injured starter Alex Smith, ran for 46 yards and a touchdown and threw for 306 yards and a score.

In the end, though, it was another W for Brady.

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"He is a fighter, he plays hard, works hard and studies hard," running back Leonard Fournette said of Brady, "and he is the man for the job."

The Saints vs. Bucs matchup will take place Sunday on FOX. Kickoff is at 6:40 p.m. 

The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report