The Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ opponent for the first round of the NFL playoffs is a team the Buccaneers know all too well when it comes to postseason football, the Philadelphia Eagles.
When it comes to rivalries, there isn’t the kind of hatred that exists in one’s own division, especially in the NFL. However, rivalries can also form by a plethora of past playoff battles, and in the case of the Bucs, that is certainly the case when it comes to the Eagles.
Believe it or not, this will actually be the fifth time that the Bucs and the Eagles will face off for postseason action, and as of now, the series is split at 2-2. However, there is a case to be made for quality over quantity in this instance.
The Buccaneers defeated the Eagles in Tampa Bay during the 1979 Divisional round by a score of 24-17 in what was their first playoff game in the history of the franchise, after enduring a stretch of futility that has often been replicated but never duplicated. It was a huge moment in the Bucs’ history.
Fast forward about twenty years, and the Buccaneers found themselves facing off with the Eagles again, this time in Philly, for both the 2000 and 2001 Wild Card rounds. The Eagles handed the Bucs their heads by scores of 21-3 and 31-9 respectively, ultimately costing Tony Dungy his job. Then came 2002, where after falling to the Eagles in the regular season, Joe Jurevicius, Ronde Barber, and company closed down Philadelphia’s Veteran Stadium with an NFC Championship victory by a score of 27-10, sleighing the dragon once and for all.
Now we find ourselves in the 2021-2022 season. The Bucs and the Birds once again are meeting in the playoffs, with the Eagles having revenge on their minds after falling to Tampa Bay 28-22 earlier this season. Of course, Tom Brady will also have revenge on his mind since the last time he faced off with the Eagles in postseason football, it resulted in a loss in Super Bowl LII when he was still with the New England Patriots.
Another chapter in the book of the Birds and the Bucs is about to be written, and we are here for it and can’t wait to read it.