Buccaneers End Eagles Season
Last year the Eagles fell short 38-35 against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was a heartbreaking loss for everyone who is at all associated with the Eagles organization. Still, everyone knew that they would have another shot at a Super Bowl run this season. Through the first 11 games of this season, there was even more belief that the Eagles would be the frontrunners to come out of the NFC as they started the season with a 10-1 record. However, in their last six games of the season, Philadelphia only won one game, losing multiple games to non-playoff teams such as the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Giants. Fast forward to this first-round NFC Wild Card matchup and the Eagles never for a second looked like the better team in this game as they lost to the Buccaneers 32-9 in Tampa. The Eagles will head back to Philadelphia and begin an offseason that will consist of many questions for the franchise. On the other hand, the Buccaneers will head to Detroit to take on the Lions on Sunday at 3 PM EST for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Let's take a look at how the Buccaneers got the win.
The Buccaneers were the first team to score in this game as their offense set up a 28-yard field goal for kicker Chase McLaughlin on their first drive which he made to put Tampa Bay up 3-0 early. Tampa Bay would only score more in the first half as on their next two drives they were able to score a touchdown as quarterback Baker Mayfield connected with wide receiver David Moore for a 44-yard touchdown and then a field goal as McLaughlin knocked down a 54-yarder to make the score of the game 13-0 Buccaneers with nearly 14 minutes left in the second quarter.
On the Eagles' first drive of the second quarter, they would score their first points of the game as their offense was able to set up a 47-yard field goal for kicker Jake Elliott which he knocked down to make the score of the game 13-3. Unfortunately for Philadelphia McLaughlin would knock down another field goal for Tampa Bay on their next drive from 48 yards out. However, the Eagles would score their first touchdown before halftime as quarterback Jalen Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert open for a 5-yard touchdown to make the score of the game 16-9 as both teams headed into the locker room.
Neither team would be able to get anything going offensively in the third quarter, but the Buccaneers' defense would be able to force a safety late in the third quarter as Hurts was called for intentional grounding and the penalty was enforced in the end zone to make the score of the game 18-9. The Buccaneers would turn these defensive points into even more points on the offensive end as they scored touchdowns on both of their next drives. The first touchdown was scored as Mayfield found wide receiver Trey Palmer open and Palmer ran into the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown. The second touchdown was scored as Mayfield found wide receiver Chris Godwin open in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown to make the final score of the game 32-9 with just under six minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. The last six minutes of this one were meaningless, and the Eagles could no longer avoid the inevitable fact that their season was over.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield went 22-36 on his pass attempts in the game, finishing having thrown for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Rachaad White had 18 carries for 72 yards, while tight end Cade Otton had 8 receptions for 89 yards. Wide receivers David Moore, Trey Palmer, and Chris Godwin all three had receiving touchdowns in the game. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts went 25-35 on his pass attempts in the game, finishing having thrown for 250 yards and 1 touchdown. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith had 8 receptions for 148 yards and was easily Philadelphia’s best player on the offensive end in this game, but tight end Dallas Goedert had the Eagles only receiving touchdown in the game.
