- Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum had two special teams penalties leveled against him on successful field goal attempts by the Eagles, one a point after touchdown and the other of the regular, 3-point variety. Both led to Philly going for more points. Both led to Philly failing to convert
- Tight end Cade Otton set a Buccaneers franchise records for receptions by a tight end in a playoff game
- The Bucs came away with their first postseason safety in franchise history
- Baker Mayfield’s touchdown to Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter was one of the silliest throws I’ve ever seen
The story of this game from the Bucs’ perspective is absolutely how great the offense looked, but my goodness did the Eagles look absolutely lifeless in every aspect of the game. Offense? Washed. Defense? Sloppy.
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts was clearly hobbled and uncomfortable without top receiver AJ Brown, and the Eagles missed about 4,000 tackles on the game, with a couple of them leading to big-play touchdowns from guys not named Mike Evans or Chris Godwin.
I mean, Bucs receiver Trey Palmer is a dynamic, speedy receiver, but he’s a rookie sixth-round pick. David Moore, the other Bucs touchdown recipient, was signed off a practice squad earlier this year.
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And yet they both made huge, game-changing plays that heavily contributed to Tampa Bay winning this game in such laughable fashion.
Now… it’s time to get a bit real. This season has been an absolute success. It’s hard not to be just blown away by this team shattering expectations in every possible way, and Todd Bowles has done everything necessary to secure his job for next year.
But the Bucs have to go to Detroit to face the Lions next week, another team this squad lost to early in the regular season.
“Any given Sunday,” all that mumbo jumbo, but the Bucs are facing a very uphill battle against a team coming off this first playoff victory in the Baker Mayfield era.
The Lions feature a dynamic offense that is much different than the skeleton crew Philadelphia ran out there; Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best slot guys in the NFL, rookie tight end Sam LaPorta is looking like an absolute steal out of the second round, and the dynamic duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs at the running back position is going to cause the Bucs some huge problems.
Add in an elite game manager in Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and one of the best o-lines in football, and the Bucs could be in for a shootout.
Detroit’s defense does need some work, with a secondary that can be lit up at any time (sixth most passing yards given up in the league), but the rush defense is one of the best in football. Tampa Bay will have to rely on Baker and the receivers to be their best selves Sunday, otherwise things could get ugly quick.
I think these Bucs will rise to the occasion to make it a game, but unfortunately I’ve got the Bucs falling in a close battle, losing 24-21 on the road.
Don’t let that dampen their season if it comes to fruition; this has been a really fun team to watch, with a surprising amount of young talent, some decent cap space, all of their draft picks, and a possible franchise QB in Baker Mayfield, who became the only Bucs quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and three tuddys in a playoff game last night (take that, Tom).
The Buccaneers’ future is a lot brighter than it looked at the beginning of the year.
With the Cowboys continuing their amazing tradition of blowing it in the playoffs, this weekend couldn’t have gone any better.
Fire those cannons.
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