Saints wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith, right, cannot catch a pass as he is defended by Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting during the second half Sunday in New Orleans. (AP photo)

TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady’s quest for a seventh Super Bowl ring continues, thanks to a young defense that’s regained its swagger when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed it most.

The Bucs (13-5) advanced to the NFC championship game for the first time in 18 years, with Brady outplaying Drew Brees with plenty of assistance from a rejuvenated defense that forced four turnovers in a 30-20 divisional playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Brady threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, finishing scoring drives of 3, 40 and 20 yards set up by takeaways by a unit many felt would be a liability in the third meeting of the season between the NFC South rivals.

“They played incredible,” said Brady, who is headed to his 14th conference title game — first in the NFC.

“This team has been doing that all year at different times,” the 43-year-old quarterback added. “The defense has picked us up, some weeks the offense has been a little bit better. Special teams has been so consistent. The way the defense played (Sunday), they were spectacular.”

New Orleans had won five straight over Tampa Bay, including a pair of lopsided wins this season.

While the Bucs led the NFL in run defense for the second straight year, a young secondary featuring three starters in their first or second seasons seemed to regress during a stretch in which Tampa Bay dropped three of four games in November.

Despite going 4-0 over the final month of the regular season and beating Washington in the NFC wild-card round, questions persisted about the pass defense heading to New Orleans, where Devin White, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Mike Edwards had interceptions and rookie Antoine Winfield Jr., forced a fumble that White scooped up to position Brady to throw a tying TD pass in the third quarter.

“We’ve been fighting adversity all year … battling the naysayers and those that say we can’t do things,” Murphy-Bunting said.

“I know one thing,” White, a second-year linebacker who was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft, added. “We might be young, but we can get after it when we’ve got our minds set to it.”

Brees was limited to 134 yards and one TD passing, while Saints star receiver Michael Thomas was held without a catch. NFL touchdown leader Alvin Kamara had 105 yards from scrimmage, but failed to get into the end zone.

New Orleans scored early in the third quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Four possessions the rest of the way ended fumble, punt, interception and interception.

Now, it’s on to Green Bay for a matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Bucs will need another strong defensive performance.