Todd Bowles: The Bucs continued to develop in the third-week Eagles game

 

Todd Bowles: Bucs Were Still Growing in Week Three Eagles Game

To conclude the NFL's "Super Wild Card Weekend," the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. This means that the Buccaneers' postseason run will begin with an in-season rematch for the third consecutive year. The Eagles visited Tampa in September as well, winning 25-11 to mark their first defeat of the season for the Bucs following a 2-0 start.

The Buccaneers hosted the Dallas Cowboys during Wild Card Week last year, a team they had defeated 19-3 in Texas during the season's first game. The Cowboys advanced to the Divisional Round after winning the rematch 31–14. The Eagles were back in 2021 after Tampa Bay had defeated Philadelphia 28–22 in the middle of October.

The Bucs easily completed the season sweep at Raymond James Stadium with a 31–15 victory in the first round.

In 2020, the Buccaneers began a three-game road swing at FedExField with a 31-23 victory against Washington, their only postseason game that wasn't a replay of an early regular season matchup. Those four results don't really follow any pattern, and that's partly because a rematch doesn't guarantee that both sides will be exactly the same as they were in the first game some months ago.When facing a team for the first or second time, Head Coach Todd Bowles noted, "It's about the same for the most part." We played the Eagles so early in the season, so it doesn't compare. Both we and them were undoubtedly still expanding. You know, playoffs are different, it's a one-and-done affair, everyone gets hurt and nicked up, it just comes down to who makes the most mistakes."