TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is certainly not taking the playoffs for granted.
The 33-year-old spent the first eight years of his career without a single postseason appearance. But now he and the Bucs are back in the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
“All I do is tell them my story, and hopefully that will scare them,” David said. “You don’t want to be in the position I was in the first eight years. When you get these opportunities, you want to take advantage of it. They are very hard to come by.”
Then you have players in the locker room, like Antoine Winfield, Jr., who has made the postseason in all four years of his young and stellar career. Winfield, Jr. got David’s message: there is a heightened sense of urgency with playoff football.
“Everything is enhanced or heightened like you said before,” he said. “Everybody is a little bit on edge because it’s win or go home. You’re playing for all the marbles. We got to bring it. It doesn’t start during the game. It starts early in the week, like today.”
“We’re in a scenario that not many people get to experience,” quarterback Baker Mayfield added. “For this organization to do it three years in a row winning the NFC South division, it’s pretty special.”
Tampa Bay (9-8) will face the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) on Monday in the NFC Wild Card Round. This is a rematch from Week 3, a lopsided 25-11 Bucs’ loss. Mayfield points out that a lot has changed since that game in September.
“We were trying to find ourselves at the point of the season, trying to figure who we were going to be, especially offensively,” Mayfield said. “I think we realized what we are good at, the bread and butter for us.”
If there is a way to beat this Eagles team, it will be with the arm of Mayfield. Philadelphia’s pass defense ranked second to last in the NFL in passing yards surrendered and allowed the second most passing touchdowns.
