The Tampa Bay Buccaneers believe they never doubted themselves. Not after Tom Brady’s retirement. Not even after they were thoroughly outclassed by the Philadelphia Eagles in a prime-time, early-season game that gave the impression that the defending NFC champions were far apart from them.
In Week 3, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles crushed the Bucs, outgaining the Brady-less Bucs 472 yards to 174 and running 78 plays to Tampa Bay’s 44. The Eagles won 25-11.
Tampa Bay was not allowed to reach the end zone until the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, despite Philadelphia’s 201 yards of rushing.
After the struggling Bucs offense broke ultimately through, with Baker Mayfield tossing a short touchdown pass to Mike Evans and converting a 2-point conversion to narrow a 22-point deficit to 14, Hurts and the Eagles’ offense took the field and held the ball for the final nine minutes of the game.
Less than three months later, on Monday night, in the NFL’s wild-card weekend finale, the Bucs (9-8) of the NFC South will have the chance to avenge their defeat when the Eagles (11-6) come to Raymond James Stadium.
This is a rematch that wasn’t expected to happen for a large portion of the season.
Philadelphia had a 10-1 start and dropped to the No. 5 seed after dropping five of six games. In the meantime, Tampa Bay won its third straight division title and secured the No. 4 spot after bouncing back from a six-game losing streak to go 5-1 over the last six weeks.
Several guys in our locker room don’t mind getting called out. We feel most at ease at that point, according to Mayfield. “All we were looking for was a way in. Now that we are here, we must act appropriately.
The only NFC team to qualify for the playoffs in each of the previous four seasons is Tampa Bay. Coach Todd Bowles felt certain that the Bucs could succeed even with Mayfield at quarterback because of the culture that was established during Brady’s three years with the organization.
We discussed it at the beginning of the summer. We have an excellent culture. How we appreciate what we own. There are many ways to skin a cat, but it was a radical departure from our previous situation, which was also fantastic, according to Bowles. “The men had faith in one another. They never provided content for other media. We penned the story ourselves. Everything was heard by us. They put a lot of effort into their practice and labor, and they succeeded.
After losing the championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs in February of last year, Philadelphia played a large portion of the season looking like a club that was determined to win the Super Bowl again.
Coach Nick Sirianni talked to the players this week during practice about returning to their core identity as a group.
When you make it to the playoffs, Sirianni remarked, “I don’t think you come up with a new message because you got here, you come back to who you are, what got you here.” “Try to bring yourself back to that moment, even if you strayed a little from who you are and what brought you there.
Having fun while in pain
There are injury worries for both clubs.
Despite being uncomfortable, Mayfield (ribs, ankle) participated in Tampa Bay’s division- and playoff-clinching victory against Carolina last week. He’s still got pain.
Leading receiver A.J. Brown had a knee injury and Hurts dislocated his throwing hand’s middle finger during Philadelphia’s regular-season finale loss to the New York Giants.
Sirianni remarked of Hurts, who this season rushed for 15 touchdowns and passed for career highs of 3,858 yards and 23 touchdowns, “I know that he’s tough and he’ll do everything that he can do to play through it.”
It will undoubtedly be difficult, Sirianni continued. And because he has overcome so many obstacles in his sports career, I am confident that he can succeed. And it is what sets him apart.
LARGE PLAY SLAY
Darius Slay is ready for a comeback.
For the first time since undergoing knee surgery after the Eagles’ Dec. 10 defeat to Dallas, the five-time Pro Bowl cornerback believes he’s prepared to play for the team.
He declared, “Philly fans, your boy is back.”
This week, Slay stated on his podcast, “Big Play Slay,” claimed his knee was feeling fine, that he had practiced drills, and that it was now “go time.”
“Now that playoff football has arrived, you can bet that I will be present,” he declared. And I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Dang, Slay! How can you recover from a torn meniscus so quickly? I heal from a torn meniscus far faster than the average person. This body is tidy. I mean, no drinking, no nothing at all. We simply have a vibe, and I’m feeling quite energized. It’s only fair and just.
A NEW APPEARANCE
The Eagles may be looking for a new offensive coordinator.
It is anticipated that several organizations seeking to fill head coaching positions will interview Brian Johnson. The Eagles are used to Philly being hammered by the coaching cycle around this time of year. They lost offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Indianapolis Colts and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to the Arizona Cardinals after last year’s Super Bowl.
HOUSE UNDERDOGS
FanDuel Sportsbook had the Bucs as three-point underdogs even though they played at home and concluded the season strongly while the Eagles faltered.
“We’re underdogs, and if we keep winning, we’ll be underdogs every week,” Bowles remarked. “That’s fine with us.”
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