These aren’t the same Birds Bucs beat in Week 6
PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles are a better team than the one that lost to Tampa Bay in Week 6.
Still, there are plenty of reasons why the defending Super Bowl champions are 8½-point favorites in Sunday’s NFC wild-card game. High among them is that the Bucs easily handled the Eagles in the team’s first matchup.
The Buccaneers (13-4) built a 28-7 third-quarter lead against Philadelphia (9-8) and held on for a 28-22 victory on the road in a Thursday night game on Oct. 14.
The loss led to a shift in offensive strategy for the Eagles. They lost again at Las Vegas the following week to fall to 2-5, but went 7-2 afterward to secure a playoff berth before resting starters last Saturday night in a 51-26 loss to Dallas.
“Looking at that last (Tampa) game, I feel like it’s not really the same team that we’ve got now. Players-wise, it’s pretty similar, but the way we attack teams is completely different,” tight end Dallas Goedert said Wednesday.
Goedert and right tackle Lane Johnson both missed the game in October; the Bucs were without tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“It started to turn in that (Las Vegas) game, as far as who we were and what we were doing,” coach Nick Sirianni said.
Sirianni said he and his staff used the extra days after the Tampa game to rethink their approach, building around a dominant offensive line and committing to the run. The Eagles ended with the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL, at 159.7 yards per game.
Against the Bucs, quarterback Jalen Hurts made plays with his legs (10 carries, 44 yards), but Miles Sanders was the only Eagles running back who saw the ball. He ran nine times for 56 yards. Just one of Sanders’ carries came in the first half.
Hurts, who at 23 will become the youngest quarterback to start a playoff game for the Eagles, showed signs of maturing as a passer down the stretch of his second season. He threw for only 115 yards against the Bucs, compiling a 55.8 passer rating that was his second-lowest of the season. Hurts’ last three appearances of the season featured passer ratings of 110.4, 102.5 and 90.9.
Asked how different Hurts is now, Sirianni said: “I think significantly . ... Jalen is a student of the game . ... He has high football character ... Guys that have high football character and guys who love football are going to reach their ceiling.”
“It comes with time,” Hurts said. “It comes with communication, and getting on the same page with everybody around you, coaches included. It’s been a process.”
While Hurts starts his first playoff game, Tom Brady, 44, will make his 46th postseason start. Brady, who has seven Super Bowl rings, led the
NFL in several categories this season, including 5,316 yards passing.
Hurts wasn’t interested in discussing that he was only 3 when Brady made his playoff start. Hurts appeared in four national college playoffs at Alabama and Oklahoma.
“I’ve been on some very big stages,” said Hurts, who didn’t remember
the first time he watched Brady play.
Middle linebacker T.J. Edwards said the Eagles “obviously respect (Brady) and who he is ... but it doesn’t mean we’re scared, or anything like that . ... When you make it bigger than what it is, that’s when mistakes and stuff happen.”