Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers roar to 31-15 win against Philadelphia Eagles in Wild Card Weekend
The reigning Super Bowl champions could next host the Cowboys, if victorious against the 49ers, or the winners of the Rams and Cardinals who meet on Monday night
Last Updated: 17/01/22 3:40am
Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a one-sided 31-15 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Wild Card Weekend on Sunday night to advance in the play-offs.
Story of the Game
Brady extended his all-time record for the most playoff wins by a quarterback to 35 (and the record for the most play-offs games started to 46).
On Sunday night it never looked in doubt that Brady, in his 22nd season, would lead the Bucs a step closer to returning to the Super Bowl where they triumphed a year ago. The legendary quarterback, 44, is vying for his eighth Vince Lombardi trophy.
The reigning champions were 31-0 ahead before their feeble visitors finally scored.
Rob Gronkowski extended his own legacy with a 15th career postseason touchdown (he has the second-most all-time behind Jerry Rice's 22).
Stats Leaders
Buccaneers
- Passing: Tom Brady, 29/37, 271 yards, 2 TDs
- Rushing: Ke'Shawn Vaughn, 17 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
- Giovani Bernard, 13 carries, 44 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Mike Evans, nine catches, 117 yards, 1 TD
Eagles
- Passing: Jalen Hurts, 23/43, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
- Rushing: Jalen Hurts, eight carries, 39 yards
- Miles Sanders, seven carries, 16 yards
- Receiving: Dallas Goedert, six catches, 92 yards
Scoring Summary
Scoring summary
| FIRST QUARTER | |
|---|---|
| Eagles 0-7 Buccaneers | Gio Bernard two-yard TD run (extra point) |
| Eagles 0-14 Buccaneers | Ke'Shawn Vaughn one-yard TD run (extra point) |
| SECOND QUARTER | |
| Eagles 0-17 Buccaneers | Ryan Succop 34-yard field goal |
| THIRD QUARTER | |
| Eagles 0-24 Buccaneers | Tom Brady two-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski (extra point) |
| Eagles 0-31 Buccaneers | Tom Brady 36-yard TD pass to Mike Evans (extra point) |
| FOURTH QUARTER | |
| Eagles 7-31 Buccaneers | Boston Scott 34-yard TD run (extra point) |
| Eagles 15-31 Buccaneers | Jalen Hurts 16-yard TD pass to Kenneth Gainwell (DeVonta Smith two-point conversion) |
Key moments
The Buccaneers immediately gained command of the game after Brady was hit by Derek Barnett, leading to a roughing of the passer penalty. From there, a 12-play, 75-yard drive ended with Gio Bernard scoring a two-yard touchdown.
Jalen Hurts was twice ineffective for the Eagles before the Buccaneers moved into a two-score lead - Brady found Rob Gronkowski, and Ke'Shawn Vaughn scored a two-yard touchdown.
It was 17-0 to the hosts before the Eagles' offence had made any impact at all. After Brady was sacked, Ryan Succop kicked a 34-yard field goal.
Moments before half-time Hurts was picked off by Mike Edwards on a throw intended for DeVonta Smith.
Gronkowski and Mike Evans extended the Bucs' lead to 31-0 - meanwhile, the Eagles' Hurts was picked off again.
The Eagles didn't trouble the scoreboard until the fourth quarter when, finally, they engineered a move to send Boston Scott into the endzone.
Smith made a brilliant catch on a two-point conversion for the Eagles' second touchdown with four minutes and 45 seconds left.
What's Next?
The Wild Card round continues when the Arizona Cardinals visit the Los Angeles Rams in the early hours of Tuesday morning, live on Sky Sports, with the winner getting the honour of a road trip to Tampa to be the Buccaneers' next opponents.
Sky Sports NFL is your dedicated channel for NFL coverage through the season - featuring a host of NFL Network programming. Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports - on the go!
