Eagles Playoff Preview: Tom Brady And Super Bowl Champ Bucs

PENNSYLVANIA — For the third time in the past 20-odd years, the Eagles road to the Super Bowl will run through Tom Brady.

The Birds surprising 2021 run to the playoffs, in what was widely seen as a rebuilding year under first year head coach Nick Sirianni and young quarterback Jalen Hurts, will start off with Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles are coming off a 9-8 season that saw them grab the number 7 seed in the NFC. They're the heavy underdogs, with the Bucs clear 8.5 favorites per Caesars Sportsbook, but that's nothing new: the Birds were widely predicted to finish among the bottom tier of teams entering the season and earn a high draft pick next summer.

Instead, they have another shot at Brady, who beat the Birds in the 2005 Super Bowl, and lost to them in the magic 2018 championship game.

Brady and the Bucs defeated the Eagles during the regular season in a closely fought matchup.

On Sunday, the Eagles defense will have their hands full: Brady led the NFL in completions and yards in 2021 and the Bucs have a potent array of receivers for him to target. The Bucs were the league's top offense overall, and the Birds will need to try to limit the damage to give Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and the rest of the offense a chance.

The two teams will look slightly different than during their last meeting: this time around, the Bucs will be without top receivers Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin, but they'll have tight end Rob Gronkowski back. The Eagles have a healthy Rodney McLeod back.

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is confident.

"Looking back at that game and seeing how far we've come from that game in October to now, it's awesome to see how we've evolved, and the growth we've had and the connection as a team and our chemistry on defense," he told Eagles beat reporter Dave Spadaro. "You saw our play pick up later in the year. We're a different team than we were in October and so are they," Edwards said. "That's the exciting part. We're both at our best right now and we'll see who comes out on top."

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Sunday in Tampa Bay.