The Buccaneers will be playing host to the Eagles one week from tonight as Monday Night Football will be in town with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals, Tampa Bay’s defense forced two turnovers and the Buccaneers defeated the Panthers on Sunday 9-0 to win their third straight NFC South title and reach the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
For Baker Mayfield, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 was satisfying and not only because it came against the Panthers, where he was 1-5 as a starter last season before being waived on Dec. 5.
Mayfield has struggled to find career stability, playing for his fourth team in three seasons. He was traded by Cleveland, released by Carolina and not re-signed by the Los Angeles Rams in a two-year span. He bounced back this season going 9-8 as a starter for the Buccaneers, completing 64.4% of his passes for 3,907 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
He beat the Panthers twice.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Mayfield said. “But I have had a lot of help along the way.”
The biggest question moving forward might be how effective Mayfield will be when the Buccaneers host the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild-card game next weekend. Mayfield came into Sunday’s game with sore ribs and suffered an ankle injury against the Panthers, although he remained in the game.
The 2018 No. 1 overall pick walked with a slight limp as he entered the interview room.
He said he’s looking forward to healing up.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Hurts, A.J. Brown and a host of injured, ineffective Eagles can only hope they bottomed out Sunday — a 1-5 finish headed into the postseason that raised doubts about the state of the franchise — in a 27-10 loss to the New York Giants.
The Eagles (11-6) stumbled down the stretch and earned the No. 5 seed and will are headed to the Bay Area.
Here is the playoff information.
Cleveland @ Houston
Saturday Gamea:
4:30 PM ETNBCMiami @ Kansas CitySat
8:15 PM ETPeacock*Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Sunday Games:
1:00 PM ETCBSJim Nantz, Tony RomoGreen Bay @ DallasSun 1/14
4:30 PM ETFOXKevin Burkhardt, Greg OlsenLA Rams @ DetroitSun 1/14
8:00 PM ETNBCMike Tirico, Cris CollinsworthPhiladelphia @ Tampa BayMon