The Philadelphia Eagles faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 15, 2024, in the Wild Card round of the 2023 NFL season. Here are takeaways and highlights from the game.
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Final Score: Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9
The Philadelphia Eagles that if they were going to repeat as NFC champions, they had to play multiple road games. Their postseason ended with only one road game as they got blown out by the No. 4 seed Buccaneers, 32-9.
Jalen Hurts’s finger injury was a talking point throughout the week, and he arrived in Tampa Bay with two fingers wrapped. Once the game got underway, the Bucs drove down first to get on the board with a Chase McLaughlin field goal from 28 yards out. A few minutes later, Baker Mayfield connected with David Moore for a 44-yard score to bring Tampa to the second quarter up 10.
The Eagles’ only points came in the second. Jake Elliott got the Eagles on the board with a field goal before Hurts’s only touchdown pass of the night to Dallas Goedert sent the teams to the locker room with Tampa Bay up seven.
Any hope the Eagles had in the second half ended as the Buccaneers pulled away. On a third down late in the third quarter, Hurts attempted to escape pressure but was sacked in the end zone for a safety. This put Tampa Bay up 18-9, and under a minute later, Trey Palmer caught Mayfield’s second deep touchdown pass of the night to send Tampa Bay to the fourth with the win effectively in hand. Chris Godwin added a touchdown as insurance and the Bucs walked away 32-9 winners.
Highlights
FIRE THOSE CANNONS 💣💥
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/ttCIhi2C2A
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 16, 2024
.@Buccaneers stop the 2-pt tush push!!
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/Lpl1piR1IY— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
TREY. PALMER. IS. GONE.
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/gInWkEMxB9
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 16, 2024
ROD CHRISTOPHER GODWIN JR.
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/ZG4VfmBKPa
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 16, 2024
Looking Forward
Philadelphia heads home to begin its offseason while Tampa Bay continues to the divisional round.
The Eagles completed their collapse from a 10-1 start by going 1-6 in their final seven games, this playoff blowout loss included. There are two questions that will hang in the air this offseason in Philadelphia: “What happened?” and “Do we move on from head coach Nick Sirianni?”
Now, while it may sound a bit far-fetched to fire a coach one season removed from a Super Bowl run, the Eagles do have a history of making moves if they feel things are not working. They fired their longtime coach, Andy Reid, after the 2012 season, and Reid would then end up opposing the Eagles on the sidelines a decade later in the Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay moves on to play Detroit next Sunday. Baker Mayfield and company will enter an incredibly electric atmosphere at Ford Field as the Lions, coming off their first playoff victory in 31 years, will try once again to win and send themselves to the NFC Championship.
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