The Eagles and the Buccaneers faced off in the final Wild Card game of 2024 this Monday. Heading in they had lost 5 of their last 6 and seemed to be falling backwards into the wildcard game. It was never in doubt that the Eagles would make the playoffs with their insane 10 and 1 start to their season but they were supposed to be a powerhouse. Instead, the game went kind of like their final 6 games of the season though. Lots of bad with a glimmer of a lot of talent.
The Eagles would fall behind early, being down 10-0 after the first quarter. With the talent starting to give Philly fans hope in the second, the Eagles would pull within a score by the end of the quarter. The Eagles waking up would not be the turning point of the game though. The Bucs stop of the “Brotherly Shove” on the conversion would be the true turning point. With the failed 2-point conversion, the Bucs would head into halftime with a 16-9 lead.
The third quarter started pretty slow but the tides turned when the Bucs forced Jalen Hurtz to get a penalty in the end zone for a safety putting the Bus up by more than a score. That is when Trey Palmer shook off a tackle and drove down the field for a 56-yard touchdown to all but secure the win for the Bucs.
With the Bucs up 25-9 heading into the final quarter, this wild card game was wrapped up. The Eagles tried everything but sometimes it was just not meant to be as they would fail to score in the second half and would end up conceding another score before the clock hit zero.
Jalen Hurtz tried everything in his power to will this team to victory but unfortunately, it was also just not his night. The passing game was off, the run did not work and the defence just could not stop a Bucs offence that had more will on this night. The truth is the Eagles were not in the same league as the Bucs in this game. Sometimes you don’t need an uber-talented roster, you just need a scrappy team led by Baker Mayfield.
Tampa Bay will be playing Detriot next Sunday.