TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't get any time off as the playoffs begin for them next Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles come to town for a prime-time Wild Card game.
Playing in the Wild Card round may be a letdown for the Eagles, who are looking to return to the Super Bowl after coming up short last year. Philadelphia started the season strong before faltering in the second half of the year.
The Eagles come into the playoffs having lost five of their last six games, including a 27-10 thumping at the hands of the woeful New York Giants on Sunday. In their last five losses, the Eagles have been outscored by an average of 11.4 points per game.
Conversely, the Bucs come into the Wild Card game against the Eagles, winning five of their last six games, with the only loss coming to the New Orleans Saints. That's the good news for Bucs fans, the bad news is in those five wins, only one came against a playoff team, the Green Bay Packers.
The Bucs defense pitched a shutout Sunday against the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers. But the offense wasn't able to put the ball in the end zone during the game, leading to a final score of 9-0.
Over the last five meetings between the Eagles and Bucs, Tampa Bay has won four games. All total, the Bucs and Eagles are 11-11 in head-to-head matchups.
The only Philadelphia win came this year when the Eagles beat Tampa Bay 25-11 early in the season. In that game, the Bucs managed just 174 total yards of offense while the Eagles piled up nearly 500 yards. Tampa Bay turned the ball over twice and gave up two sacks in the loss at home.
Looking at the key position, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield actually threw for more yards and touchdowns than Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts this season. He did this while completing roughly the same amount of passes and being sacked more than Hurts was this year.
The Bucs ranked 20th in scoring offense this season at 20.5 points per game, while Philly's defense gave up 25.2 points per game.
Down the stretch, Philly's once-vaunted defense struggled, giving up an average of 29.3 points per game (the team ranked 30th on the season, giving up 25.2 points per game). But the Bucs ranked 20th in the league, scoring just 20.5 points per game.
One area where Philly does have a distinct offensive advantage over the Bucs is in the running game. Philadelphia averaged 128 yards per game, good for 8th in the league. Tampa Bay averaged just 88 rush yards per game, the worst in the NFL.
If there is a plus, though, for Tampa Bay, its run defense was 5th best in the league in 2023, giving up just 95 yards per game.
It's a battle of two teams going in opposite directions at the end of the season. Whether that continues into the playoffs will be determined Monday night on ABC Action News.
