The Philadelphia Eagles stepped into Raymond James Stadium on Monday night reeling, having lost five of their last six games to end the regular season.
And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only added to their pain, delivering a 32-9 home blasting of the Eagles in their NFC Wild Card playoff matchup. Baker Mayfield completed 22-of-36 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a shining performance.
The Buccaneers came out sharp taking a 16-9 lead into halftime. They’d put that lead out of reach late in the third quarter behind a nine-point swing produced by a safety on Jalen Hurts followed by a 56-yard touchdown connection between Mayfield and rookie wideout Trey Palmer, followed by an extra point.
Mayfield would add to his magical evening in the fourth quarter, where he picked up the Eagles’ blitz on 3 down and lofted a throw into the end zone, where Chris Godwin came up with the 23-yard touchdown reception to drop the final hammer on Philly.
It was a redeeming performance from Mayfield in what has been a career year with the Buccaneers after his NFL experience bounced him around from the Cleveland Browns to Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams before finding a true home in Tampa Bay.
With the win, the Buccaneers advance to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, where they’ll visit the Detroit Lions next weekend. The Eagles, behind their second-half of the season collapse, will look to answer many questions over the offseason.
Here’s how the Buccaneers pieced together their dominant victory over the Eagles.