We're just days away from the biggest game the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played all season, but all of the attention is on the other side of the field.
Go back to August and try telling someone that not only are the Bucs in the playoffs but they're not the team steeped in uncertainty and drama and see how long it takes for you to get laughed out of the room. That's the reality of the situation, though, as Tampa Bay has taken a backseat to what feels like an endless stream of drama involving the Philadelphia Eagles.
Injuries have started to stack up on Philly, and the Eagles finished the season in about the worst imaginable way. Despite once owning the No. 1 seed, the Eagles lost games to the Cardinals and Giants down the stretch and are now on the road in the Wild Card.
On the field the Eagles are still talented, but they're a shell of the team that showed up in Tampa back in Week 3 and things continue to go downhill with each new day.
A.J. Brown is stirring up Eagles drama at the exact right time for Buccaneers
Two notable things happened with A.J. Brown, both of which could impact Monday's Wild Card game.
Brown missed practice again on Friday, which means he hasn't suited up since injuring his knee during the Eagles Week 18 loss to the Giants. His status for Monday was already in doubt, but it's looking more and more like he won't be able to play if he's unable to practice.
Not only has Brown missed practice, but he's kicking up dust away from the field as well. Eagles fans noticed on Friday that Brown has scrubbed all mention of the team from his social media accounts, with the timing being of particular interest to Bucs fans.
AJ Brown has deleted all football/#Eagles related posts from his Instagram. pic.twitter.com/P5ZIdT4Zla
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) January 12, 2024
Brown has been growing increasingly frustrated as the season has worn on, and the Eagles have been worn down. Amazon Prime cameras caught him getting into a spat with Jalen Hurts on the sideline back in Week 2, and that was in a game the Eagles won. Since then things haven't smoothed out much, and Philly losing five of its last six games hasn't helped.
Jalen Hurts is expected to play but won't be 100 percent, the Eagles are missing key players, and now this drama with A.J. Brown is throwing the vibes off even further.
The Bucs have plenty of things they need to work on, but the stars are continuing to align in their favor ahead of Monday's big game.