History shows Eagles should want to play anybody but the Bucs
There should be no reason for the Philadelphia Eagles to fear Tampa Bay. The Bucs have an 8-9 record and are nine-point underdogs to Dallas on Monday night. But history tells another story, and it didn’t start with last year’s playoff loss in Tampa.
After going 12-4 in 2002, Philadelphia welcomed Tampa Bay for the NFC championship in what would be the last game ever played in Veterans Stadium. The Eagles were heavy favorites.
In 2001 and 2002, Philadelphia eliminated Tampa from the playoffs without giving up a single touchdown. The Bucs had lost their last six road playoff games and had a reputation for losing games in cold weather. There was no way the Eagles could lose.
Except they did. Tampa Bay overcame an early deficit and rode a 92-yard pick-six from Ronde Barber all the way to Super Bowl XXXVII where they beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
As if that weren’t painful enough, the Buccaneers returned to Philadelphia nine months later for the inaugural game at Lincoln Financial Field. Even with revenge on their side and Sylvester Stallone pumping up the crowd from the roof, the Eagles couldn’t score a touchdown and opened their new stadium with a 17-0 loss.
Expectations weren’t so high when Philadelphia met Tampa Bay in last year’s NFC Wildcard game, but the results could have been better. Tampa Bay dominated Philadelphia last January. Tom Brady had two touchdowns and only eight incompletions while Jalen Hurts struggled with accuracy throwing two interceptions.
Tampa's defense shut down Philadelphia’s top-ranked rushing attack and forced three turnovers. The Eagles chose not to blitz and gave Brady a clean pocket. Their corners played off Buccaneers receivers all day, allowing easy completions and a 31-15 victory for Tampa.
It hasn’t been so easy for Tampa this year, but Philadelphia has struggled in their last four games. If the Eagles allow Brady the time and space they just gave Andy Dalton and Davis Webb, the Buccaneers could spoil the party, again.
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