Eagles Start 'Stunningly Bad' vs. Buccaneers, But Bounce Back Headed into Halftime
In the first half of Monday night's playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Eagles looked like the same, poor-performing team fans have been accustomed to seeing over the past month.
But thanks to a big half from receiver DeVonta Smith, the Eagles climbed out of an early hole and trailed by just seven at 16-9 headed into halftime at Raymond James Stadium.
ESPN play-by-play commentator Joe Buck might've summed up Philly's first half best when he said the Eagles' tackling effort on defense was "stunningly bad." It looked that way for the majority of the first two quarters, but the Philadelphia defense bounced back in a major way.
© Kim Klement Neitzel, USA TODAY
Without star receiver A.J. Brown, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts didn't find a consistent rhythm in the first half, but still made some key throws to keep Philly from falling into too deep of a hole. He went 14 of 20 passing for 165 yards and one touchdown. He found DeVonta Smith four times for 111 yards and connected with tight end Dallas Goedert for a five-yard touchdown.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield made plays with his arm and his legs, finishing the first half 11 of 24 passing for 174 yards and one touchdown. Tampa Bay found the end zone on a 44-yard catch-and-run from David Moore and added a trio of field goals.
Incredibly, the Bucs could've led by way more if not for some big drops down the field, but this gave the Eagles a sliver of life that they desperately needed.
The Eagles finally got going at the start of the second quarter thanks to Smith, who had a 31-yard catch-and-run before a 12-yard catch on the next play. However, the offense quickly stalled, as the Eagles were forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal from Jake Elliott for their first points of the game. The Bucs led 13-3 with 11:31 left in the half.
Tampa Bay added another field goal to build a 16-3 lead, but that's when Hurts found Smith for a 55-yard catch to set up Goedert's touchdown.
The Eagles defense forced a huge stop near the end of the half and got the ball back with 1:42 left but weren't able to do anything with it.
Philly will receive the second-half kickoff.
