NEW JERSEY CITY — The return to Tampa is in the cards for the Eagles. Next Monday night at 8 p.m., the Eagles—who finished second in the NFC East—will meet No. 4 seed Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the NFC.
Later this evening, the NFL is expected to announce the game's date and time.
The Buccaneers (9-8) secured the NFC South for the third consecutive season with a 9-0 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. If they win their division, they get to host the postseason.
The Cowboys' division victory means no team has won the NFC East twice since the 2001–2004 Philadelphia Eagles. In 2021, when the Eagles were a wild card club that advanced to the first round of the playoffs in Tampa, the Cowboys were the last team to win the division.
Much has transpired since the Eagles' 2021 postseason first-round loss to the Buccaneers in Tampa. As a quarterback, Jalen Hurts has made tremendous strides, and last season he guided the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl LVII. Unfortunately, the Eagles will now have to win away from home if they want to make it back to the Super Bowl.
In Week 3, the Eagles traveled to Tampa and defeated the Buccaneers 25-11. Hurts was intercepted twice while throwing for 277 yards and a score in that contest. D'Andre Swift has failed to reach 100 yards rushing in any game subsequent to his 130-yard performance. The game was also a breakout performance for A.J. Brown, who caught nine receptions for 131 yards.
Despite suffering a loss to the Saints in Week 17, the Buccaneers had won their prior four games, bringing their regular season record to 5-1 in 2023.
As a result, the Eagles are limping into postseason contention. They started the season with a perfect record of 10-1, but they dropped five of their final six games.
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