The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the postseason for the fourth year in a row, which matches the longest streak of playoff seasons in franchise history. But while the first such stretch, from 1999-2002, finished with a Super Bowl crescendo, the Buccaneers current playoff trend has gone in the other direction. Tampa Bay won its second Super Bowl in 2020, lost in the Divisional Round in 2021 and were beaten in the Wild Card round last year.
In terms of preseason expectations outside of Bucs headquarters, simply capturing a third straight NFC South title was a better outcome than expected, but inside the building that is far from the final goal. With five wins in their last six games, the Buccaneers believe they are peaking at the right time and hope to make some noise now that they’re in the dance.
“This season had a lot of ups and downs,” said linebacker Lavonte David. “We started off strong, then we hit low and then we had a good stretch. Now we really just want to stay consistent. It is a one-game season. We always tell the guys it is a one-game season. It is a small area for mistakes. We definitely are excited and happy.”
The opponent is the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, who followed up their narrow loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII with an 11-6 record in 2023 that included a 10-1 start. A 1-5 stumble to close out the season allowed Dallas to pass them for the NFC East title but the Eagles are a very dangerous five seed with the NFL’s seventh highest scoring average, an elite offensive line and a defensive front loaded with difference makers. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw 23 touchdown passes and ran for another 15 scores, wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each surpassed 1,000 yards, as did running back D’Andre Swift on the ground. Swift and Brown both made the Pro Bowl, as did tackle Lane Johnson, center Jason Kelce, guard Landon Dickerson and outside linebacker Haason Reddick.
“They’re a talented team,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles. “They’ve had some injuries over the past few weeks, as well. [I] can’t really put a finger on it until I watch more film, but again they still won double-digit games. They’re a very talented team. They went to the Super Bowl last year. They’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
The Bucs and Eagles have a rich shared playoff history with five previous meetings, including Tampa Bay’s NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia in 2002. The most recent was…
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