Shaquil Barrett’s interception, which leads to a touchdown, is one of three turnovers forced Sunday.
TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Shaquil Barrett (knee) was among the many players missing from the Bucs’ starting lineup for the final two games of the regular season.
Well, Shaq is back and so is the Bucs defense.
The Pro Bowl linebacker made a leaping interception of a pass from Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans on the next play in the Bucs’ 31-15 win over the Eagles in Sunday’s NFC wildcard game.
It was one three turnovers forced by the Bucs. Safety Mike Edwards had an interception and Ross Cockrell recovered a muffed punt by Jalen Reagor.
The Bucs (14-4), who won their first home playoff game in 14 years, will host again next week (opponent pending).
Leading up to Sunday, the Bucs were asked about how their suddenly leaky run defense would fare against the league’s best rushing offense.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Philadelphia Eagles with a 31-15 victory during Sunday's NFC wild-card game as they continue their pursuit of a second consecutive Super Bowl title.
But they were pitching a 31-0 shutout until Boston Scott broke loose for a 34-yard touchdown run with 12:08 remaining in the game. Until that score, the Bucs had allowed only 44 rushing yards.
The difference was getting back starters on defense such as Barrett, Lavonte David and Jason Pierre-Paul. They bottled up Hurts while Brady and Co. built a big enough lead to make the Eagles have to put the football in the air more than they would have preferred.
The Bucs took a 17-0 lead in the first half with Brady mixing the run and pass beautifully to keep the Eagles off balance.
The Bucs got the fast start they needed. Utilizing a no-huddle offense to begin the game, they drove 75 yards with Giovani Bernard scoring on a 2-yard touchdown. But the Bucs lost right tackle Tristan Wirfs to a sprained ankle.
On the second touchdown drive, center Ryan Jensen injured his ankle on the 2-yard TD run by Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Both would return, but only Jensen remained in the game until the end.
Wirfs was done after allowing a sack to Ryan Kerrigan, who had two in the first half.
Brady was patient and efficient against the Eagles zone defense. He went 20-of-25 for 159 yards in the first half. Meanwhile, Philadelphia gained a total of only 118 total yards in the first half, including 35 on the ground.
The Bucs entered the game missing a big chunk of their offense, too. Running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones were out. Chris Godwin is lost for the season with a torn ACL, and fellow receiver Antonio Brown was released. But Brady was resourceful.
He threw touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and Evans, and spread the ball to nine different receivers. Brady finished 29-of-37 for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
