The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-9, to advance to the divisional round.
Tampa will now travel to face the Detroit Lions next week.
David Moore, the six-year veteran who had just five receptions for 94 yards with a touchdown during the regular season, was the first to find the end zone in this one thanks to the Eagles' tackling.
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Trey Palmer #10 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with his teammates after scoring a 56-yard touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa , Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
After the Bucs punted on the game's first possession, they forced a punt on the Eagles that gave them a chance to pull away early. That's exactly what Baker Mayfield did when he found Moore running down the middle of the field.
Two Eagles defenders collided, allowing Moore to get tons of open field with blockers in front of him. Still, Philadelphia had the opportunity to play Moore with multiple defenders around him. However, he missed a few attempts and ran into the end zone for a 44-yard score.
And it was quite the birthday present for Moore, who turned 29 on Monday.
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The Bucs were able to score on their first four drives, although three of the four were field goals. That left the Eagles in the game, where they got a field goal before Dallas Goedert scored a short touchdown.
However, the Eagles' problems Monday night could be summed up in one play: a rare, botched “Tush Push.”
After the Bucs jumped offside on the extra point following Goedert's touchdown, Jalen Hurts prepared for his classic quarterback rush. But the Bucs were able to shut it down despite the high success rate as the Eagles executed it to keep the game at 16-9.
In the second half, both teams struggled to get anything going on offense, but points were still piled up when the Bucs defense forced an intentional ground ball by Hurts, who was in the end zone.
As a result, it's an automatic safety, making the score 18-9.
Then, just two plays later, Bucs rookie receiver Trey Palmer turned on the jets after catching a short pass from Mayfield and making Eagles cornerback James Bradberry miss a tackle, scoring a 56-yard touchdown .
With a 25-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucs knew they just needed to keep applying the pressure on defense. Meanwhile, the Eagles continued to get hurt, entering Bucs territory and committing penalties.
It happened on the next drive, where the Eagles found themselves on third-and-21. They ended up getting to 4th-and-5, but Hurts couldn't find DeVonta Smith, his top receiver with AJ Brown sidelined with a knee injury, to score.
Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before an NFL Wild Card Playoff football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images))
Then came the dagger for Mayfield and the Bucs offense as they killed more than six minutes of time in the fourth quarter and ended with a 23-yard pass to Chris Godwin to make the score 32-9 with 5:42 left. . play.
This was the first true playoff win for Mayfield, who had a playoff with the Cleveland Browns during the 2020 season that ended with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mayfield finished with 337 yards passing on 22-of-36 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And although he didn't score a touchdown, tight end Cade Otton was Mayfield's top target, scoring eight of his 11 targets for 89 yards.
Mike Evans also finished with three receptions for 48 yards, although he could have had more with a pair of drops in the first half, one of which came close to the end zone.
For the Eagles, Smith was a bright light in a rather weak offensive performance, as he racked up 148 yards on eight receptions. Hurts finished 25 of 35 for 250 yards with one touchdown. The Bucs also held him to just five rushing yards on a single attempt.
Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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The reigning NFC champions are out of the playoffs just like that, as the Bucs will look to play the Lions next week.
