Bucs avenge regular-season loss, topple Eagles in wild-card round He could never replace a living legend. And there is a good chance the season may end with congratulations on a good playoff run instead of confetti. But Baker Mayfield's first season with the Bucs already has outlasted the final one for Tom Brady. The vagabond quarterback passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns to as many receivers Monday night in a 32-9 win over the defending NFC champion Eagles in a wild-card game at Raymond James Stadium. The victory improved the Bucs to 10-8 overall and earned them a trip to Detroit for the division round against the upstart Lions at Ford Field Sunday at 3 p.m. Mayfield is no stranger to the playoffs. He beat the Steelers in his third season with the Browns. But he admitted this one felt sweeter. "I don't like to directly compare. But yeah, obviously the ups and downs that I've been through the last few years, this one's great," Mayfield said. "But our sights are set for bigger goals, so it's on to the next one. It's always fun to be counted out. Obviously, I'm pretty comfortable in it, but our team has completely embraced that." It was the sixth win in the last seven games for the Bucs, who avenged a 25-11 loss to the Eagles in Week 3. The game was close until a series of plays late in the third quarter - one by the defense and one by the offense. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was called for intentional grounding while he was being tackled in the end zone by Anthony Nelson, resulting in a safety. Two plays from scrimmage later, Mayfield connected with rookie Trey Palmer on a 56-yard touchdown pass for a 25-9 lead. "That was huge. At that point it was a one-score game," Todd Bowles said. "I think it was 16-9. We had them backed up. Relentless pass rush. Just kept going and going for Nelson. He just comes up with a big play time after time. Then we get a score after that a little bit and gave us a little cushion." The Bucs built a 16-3 lead, scoring on each of their first four possessions. In between two Chase McLaughlin field goals, including a 54-yarder early in the second quarter, was a 44-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to David Moore. Mayfield could have had an even bigger day, but he was plagued by six dropped passes in the first half, including two by Mike Evans. One came near the end zone when he beat Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. Cade Otton dropped one on a drive late in the first half, and McLaughlin was summoned to kick a 48-yard field goal. But Mayfield kept going back to Otton, who finished with a career-high eight catches for 89 yards. "It's a credit to those guys working to get open," Bowles said. "It's a credit to Mike and Chris (Godwin) drawing guys away from them and Baker finding them. They did a hell of a job, especially finishing plays, especially the run after catch with Moore and Palmer turning them into touchdowns." Mayfield's final TD came on an all-out blitz by the Eagles, and he hung the ball out for Godwin, who tracked it down for a 23-yard touchdown. "We had a play called in the huddle, and I just gave the guys a heads up they may bring Cover Zero, and they did, so got the alert, changed the protection, changed the concept. It wasn't the best ball, but he caught it. (No.) 14 was down there somewhere." Credit Bowles for devising a perfect game plan against Hurts and the Eagles offense. In their first meeting, Philadelphia rushed for 201 yards on 40 carries. But Bowles deployed a six-man front and held the Eagles to 42 yards rushing. He also used cornerback Zyon McCollum at safety to give the Bucs more speed on the back end to cover. As a result, the Eagles were 0-for-9 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. The Bucs even stopped the "Brotherly Shove" on a two-point conversion try. For Mayfield, the season was already a success after he set career marks for passing yards (4,044) and touchdown passes (28) while leading the Bucs to an NFC South title. But winning a playoff game against an Eagles team that started 10-1 didn't seem as if it was in the cards. To complicate matters, Mayfield has been playing with severely bruised ribs and a sprained ankle. This week, he had a personal trainer work with him to stretch his rib cage to promote healing. "I don't know the science," Mayfield said of the treatment. "I just let him do the work. I'm a glutton for punishment. It's not fun, but it's worth it." Bowles, who steered the team from a 4-7 start to the division round of the playoffs continued to praise Mayfield for the grit he brought to the team this season. "He was sharp," Bowles said. "The whole game, he was sharp. But they dropped some balls, and he kept coming back to them. He was putting the ball only in the place they could catch it. They didn't turn it over. They kept making play after play after play and did a hell of a job. "They were ready to play. We're not going in there trying to play for a tie, we were going for the win. We knew we were underdogs, and we will be underdogs next week, too. We understand that, and we embrace it. We like it. Guys come up play after play." Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times, published 16 January 2024