TAMPA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Eagles fell behind early and were never able to recover on Sunday, as the team's season ended in a 31-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card round.
Philadelphia was down 31-0 in the third quarter before scoring twice in the game's final period to bring the score to its final.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady had a fairly easy time dissecting the Eagles' defense, throwing for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner finished off the Eagles with TD passes of 2 yards to Rob Gronkowski and 36 yards to Mike Evans, improving his dazzling playoff record to 35-11 in a record 46 postseason starts.
With starting running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II out, some speculated the Tampa Bay rushing attack could be a point of weakness. That was not the case, as both Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard both scored, helping create a balanced Buccaneers attack.
Despite quarterback Jalen Hurts Hurts finishing with 258 yards and a score through the air, Philadelphia struggled to get its passing game going all day. He threw two costly interceptions, including one in the end zone on a play where he was forced out of the pocket.
The team's leading receiver in the regular season, DeVonta Smith, finished with four grabs for 60 yards, but two of those catches didn't come until the fourth quarter.
Tight end Dallas Goedert finished the day with six catches and 92 yards as the team's leading receiver, but had a pivotal drop that could've put the Eagles deep in Tampa Bay territory in the first half.
However, the most telling point of how the Buccaneers dominated the game on Sunday was their ability to limit the Eagles normally potent rushing attack.
Hurts led the team with 39 yards on eight carries, Boston Scott had 34 yards on one carry, and Miles Sanders put up 16 yards on 7 carries. The Buccaneers outrushed the Eagles with backup running backs by 11 total yards.
Former first round pick Jalen Reagor again struggled to field punts on Sunday, with one muff leading to a quick Buccaneers touchdown.
The demoralizing loss is the beginning of a big offseason for the Eagles, who currently hold three first round picks.
After the way Hurts performed on Sunday, it will be interesting to see if the team makes a decision on his future in the coming months.