Eagles vs. Buccaneers Top Plays (Wild Card, 2021-22)

Let’s be honest: yesterday sucked, Sunday sucked but this was overall a very successful season given where everyone thought the Eagles would be in January. The Eagles showed fight over the season, coming back from having two wins in nine weeks. Obviously, I want to see the Eagles have more than one win against a winning team next season, but for now, the Eagles are ahead of schedule.

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Group Plays

Hargrave/Barnett Sack

In a twist that nobody saw coming, a majority of the highlights from today came courtesy of the defense. Granted, few people likely foresaw two of the Buccaneers’ starting linemen—Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen—being injured, as well as Ke’Shawn Vaughn, being the Bucs’ #1 running back option. To their credit, on a day when the defensive line should have feasted, they did, and that includes Hargrave and Barnett, who found their way to Brady on a 3rd and goal and forced a FG from Ryan Succop. At this point, preventing the Buccaneers from scoring was near impossible, so keeping four points off the board was the best outcome Eagles fans could realistically hope for.

Individual Plays

Devonta Smith Run

This technically wasn’t a run. I thought it was originally, but after rewatching, it was clear Smith caught a forward pass. It was behind the line of scrimmage, though, thus my confusion. On the downside, this play was in garbage time. On the bright side, this did lead to a touchdown one play later, and this was at the point in the game when someone could trick themselves into thinking the Eagles still had a chance. 

Milton Williams TFL

Are we at the point where we consider Milton Williams deserving of a nickname? Maybe not, but this pick is looking good so far. Williams’ snap count has fluctuated over the year, exceeding 60% of snaps only once, but in the spirit of the NFL, he’s done the most with what limited opportunities he’s had. Williams slipped through to the backfield untouched. I wanted to slow down the highlight to see how this happened, and I saw the double team on Tarron Jackson (for some reason) sprung Williams for a free release into the backfield. This was either a mistake in protection or a lack of respect for Jackson’s speed. Either way, the Eagles took advantage of a mismatch and busted what could have been a big play. Again, I feel the need to reiterate that this was a Howie Roseman pick because, as much as Eagles fans (deservedly) give him grief, it’s important to also highlight his successes.

Alex Singleton TFL

I, unfortunately, couldn’t find footage outside of the YouTube highlights. The sack comes at 9:31 on the video (2:30 in the third quarter). Unfortunately, most of the highlights from this game were from when the Eagles were down 31 points. This tackle could have been more significant, as it came on first down in Buccaneer territory, but it was a play that found its significance in holding Tampa Bay to a field goal. Crazier comebacks in NFL history have happened, but to quote Drake: if you’re reading this, it’s too late.

Ryan Kerrigan Sack

Where. The. Hell. Was. This. All. Year? If Kerrigan had more performances like this, I probably wouldn’t have been suspicious of him being a double agent for Washington (also known as 2021’s Orlando Scandrick). At the end of the second quarter, Kerrigan put the dagger in a Bucs possession that was short-lived and was a long-shot to get anything out of. I understand it was against a backup right tackle, but Kerrigan absolutely blew Well off of his spot.

Ryan Kerrigan TFL

Speaking of Kerrigan, I continue to ask where this was all season. They say that the playoffs are a different beast, and now I see why: the win-or-go-home atmosphere turned Kerrigan into a monster. That’s my theory, anyway. I’ll give him credit, he pulled a Reverse Avatar: when the Eagles needed him most, he showed up out of nowhere. In addition to a sack that sent the game into halftime, Kerrigan had a nice tackle for loss that prevented the Bucs from being in a third and manageable situation. Just like with the Milton Williams tackle for loss, Kerrigan was practically untouched before he found his way into the backfield, blowing up the play before it had a chance.

Dallas Goedert Catch

This highlight comes at a point in the game when the game was as close as it was going to get (given how outmatched the Eagles were despite the players Tampa was missing). A 17-point lead is large, but not insurmountable, and 36 minutes is plenty of time if each side of the ball steps up. Though Goedert had bad drops in the game, he did manage to make this play at a crucial point to extend a drive that could have ended in points if the offense was able to execute.

Smith 2-point Good

This might have been the best catch of the day for the Eagles. Too bad it came when they were down 20 points. Smith had an excellent extension to haul in an excellent catch. Two-pointers are a slight gray area to me since it comes after a better play and I don’t add extra points unless they’re clutch/walk-offs, but this score was evidence of Smith’s playmaking ability and brought us two points closer to victory (even though all was lost at this point).

Kenneth Gainwell TD

I feel bad that the game was out of hand at this point. Calling touchdowns “garbage time” is only fun when it’s happening for other teams. I can’t even say that this was a step towards getting the Eagles back in the game since we were down 24 with 5 minutes left in the game. Peyton Manning had a 21-point comeback in 4 minutes in 2003 and it was so great/special that NFL Throwback felt the need to make a video about it. If Hurts pulled this off (with a little help from Gainwell), it would have been one of the greatest comebacks in Eagles history. Unfortunately, the game was well decided by that point. 

Boston Scott TD

Contextually speaking, though the Eagles were down by more than they were when Kenneth Gainwell scored his touchdown, the Eagles had seven more minutes to make something crazy happen. If I had to find a light in the darkness, I’d say that the Eagles deserve some level of credit for not worrying about the score and working to crawl out of the hole that they made for themselves. This was reminiscent of the Quez Watkins TD last week, as the game was lost when he shook a few defenders off before finding his way to the end zone. Pairing this with the Devonta Smith run, the Eagles managed to go 65 yards in two plays.