Tampa Vs. Philadelphia Rivalry Has A Deep History
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles close out the opening round of the playoffs Monday night, and their rivalry is more intense than you may realize.
For starters, this year’s matchup finds both teams in very different circumstances as the post-season begins. The Bucs essentially got in by default. They won the NFC South this season with a record of 9-8. Nonetheless, the team is hyped, healthy, and playing with house money. The defending NFC champions? Well, they couldn’t be more different. Though favored to win the NFCC East, the Eagles have struggled. Since December, they have lost five games and won just one. There’s even (ridiculous) media chatter as to whether or not the Eagles should fire coach Nick Sirianni if they lose in this round.
So What’s The Rivalry?
We can trace this back to 2002. This was technically the 2001 season where the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams. In the first round of the playoffs however, the Eagles crushed the Bucs 31-9 and sent them home.
The next year, the teams would square off in the postseason once again. This site was once again Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, but the results were different. The Bucs had to get past Donovan McNabb and the big, bad birds in order to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. The Eagles were the number one seed. The Bucs took care of business and won the game 27-10. They rode this wave through San Diego (Super Bowl host site) and dismantled the Oakland Raiders 48-21. In fact, at the time, many believed the Bucs getting past the Eagles gave them the edge they needed, where they knew they’d win their first Super Bowl.
Most recently, the Bucs defeated the Eagles in the 2022 playoffs. This was also in the first round and featured Tom Brady at QB.
Other Notable TB – Philly Clashes
The 2008 World Series also pitted Tampa against Philly, as the Rays took on the Phillies. It was the Rays first appearance in the World Series, where they were eventually defeated four games to one. In the NHL, the Lightning and Flyers still play each other three times this season. According to FlyerHistory, these two teams have played each other 14 times since 1996.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles round one rivalry playoff finale is at 8:15 pm on Monday night in Tampa. Many NFL experts have picked the Bucs to win. Although back in September (week 3), the Eagles beat the Bucs 25-11. Will this be a revenge game? We will soon find out.
Side note: imagine how much better this game would be with the Bucs wearing the creamsicle throwbacks and the Eagles wearing the Kelly greens.