The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 to advance to the divisional round.
Tampa will be on the road next week to face the Detroit Lions.
Six-year veteran David Moore, who had just five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown during the regular season, was the first to find the end zone in the game thanks to some hard-shooting Eagles tackles.
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Tampa Bay Lions celebrate with teammates after scoring a 56-yard touchdown during the third quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoffs against the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. Trey Palmer, No. 10 of the Buccaneers. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
After the Bucs kicked the field on their first possession of the game, they forced the Eagles to punt, creating a chance to pull away early. When Baker Mayfield found Moore breaking through the middle of the field, he did just that.
Two Eagles defenders collided, allowing Moore to get a ton of opening field in front of his blocker. Still, Philadelphia had a chance to tackle Moore with multiple defenders surrounding him. However, he ran into the end zone on several attempts and ran for a 44-yard score.
And it was a birthday present for Moore, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Monday.
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The Bucs were able to score on their first four drives, but 3 of 4 were field goals. The Eagles stayed in the game and made a field goal of their own before Dallas Goedert scored a short touchdown.
But the Eagles' struggles on Monday night could end with just one play: a “push-push” that went awry.
After the Bucs were called offsides on the extra point following Goedert's touchdown, Jalen Hurts made a classic quarterback sneak. However, once the Eagles ran it and kept the game at 16-9, the Bucks were able to erase it despite their high success rate.
Both teams struggled offensively in the second half, but the Bucs defense still scored points as the Bucs defense forced intentional grounding by Hurts, who was in the end zone.
As a result, the auto safety became 18-9.
Then, just two plays later, Bucs rookie receiver Trey Palmer caught a short pass from Mayfield, forced Eagles corner James Bradberry to miss a tackle, and scored a 56-yard touchdown for the Jets. I turned on the switch.
Leading 25-9 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucs knew they needed to keep the pressure on their defense. Meanwhile, the Eagles continued to hurt themselves by penetrating Bucks territory and committing penalties.
It happened on the next drive when the Eagles went on third-and-21. They eventually extended their lead to 4-5, but Hurts' main receiver, DeVonta Smith, was unable to score as AJ Brown was out with a knee injury.
Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before the NFL Wild Card Playoff football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Savitus/Getty Images))
Mayfield and the Bucs offense then went on a dagger drive that killed more than six minutes in the fourth quarter and ended with Chris Godwin's 23-yard strike to make it 32-9 with 5:42 remaining. play.
This was Mayfield's first real victory in the playoffs. Mayfield played a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Browns during the 2020 season, which ended with a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mayfield completed 22 of 36 passes for 337 yards through the air with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Although he didn't score a touchdown, tight end Cade Otton was Mayfield's top target, completing 8 of 11 targets for 89 yards.
Mike Evans also finished with three catches for 48 yards, but could have had more if he had a couple drops in the first half, one of which ended up near the end zone. .
For the Eagles, Smith was a bright spot in a somewhat lackluster performance offensively, as he had eight catches for 148 yards. Hurts completed 25 of 35 for 250 yards and one touchdown. The Bucs also held him to just 5 yards per attempt.
No. 6 Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass during the first quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrman/Getty Images)
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The reigning NFC champions are eliminated from the playoffs, and the Bucks will be looking for a spoiler play against the Lions next week.
