The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 3-point underdogs heading into their Wild Card match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles yet they walked out of Raymond James Stadium with a 32-9 victory and are now on their way to the NFC Divisional Round where they'll face the NFL darlings, the Detroit Lions.
Sticking with this Wild Card game, however, the Bucs got on the board with a field goal on their first drive of the day and proceeded to score on four of their five drives in the first half. With about three minutes to go in the first half, the Eagles found the end zone for the first (and what would be the only) time and elected to go for the two-point try.
The Eagles have been famous for their "Brotherly Shove" play, also known as the "tush push" because it almost never fails. They've run it successfully dating back to last season so why not run their best play there and try to make it a five-point game?
Well, the Bucs proved the play isn't invincible, as they managed to stop the tush push and keep it a seven-point game.
BUCS STOPPED THE EAGLES' TUSH PUSH! 😱#PHIvsTB pic.twitter.com/0tbFXVkrEb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 16, 2024
Turning point for Bucs was when they stopped the Eagles' tush push
This was a huge play because, sure, it was still a one-score game even with Philly not converting there but by keeping Jalen Hurts out of the end zone on that two-point try, the Eagles were clearly dejected further. Nothing had been going right for them in this game and it truly felt like this moment was the dagger.
That ended up being true, as the Bucs went on to score 16 unanswered points to win the game 32-9. The Eagles never scored again after they were kept out of the end zone on that two-point attempt.
Some might point to the Eagles safety at the end of the third quarter that truly put a stamp on this game but it felt over as soon as Hurts couldn't get those coveted two points. Props to the Tampa Bay defense for doing something not many defenses have been able to do since 2022.