The NFL’s Wild Card round concludes on Monday night – the last MNF game of the season – as the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, who are struggling massively, visit the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a regular-season rematch.

The Bucs, who won their third-consecutive NFC South division title, finished as the NFC’s No. 4 seed and will host the No. 5 seed Eagles on Wild Card Monday. The Eagles qualified for the postseason for the third-consecutive season.

This is the sixth postseason meeting between the teams, with the Bucs owning a 3-2 advantage. Philadelphia has lost its past two playoff meetings with the Buccaneers, the most recent a 31-15 defeat in the 2021 wild-card round.

Underdogs are 20-10 ATS in wild-card games since 2017 and 13-17 outright; at least one underdog has won outright in each season. The Eagles are the sixth team in the Super Bowl era to enter the postseason on at least a six-game ATS losing streak. Each of the previous five won their first playoff game that season.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2024 NFL Wild Card Game Information

Eagles vs. Buccaneers

Monday, January 15 — 8pm ET on ESPN/ABC#SuperWildCard #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0N1fSQy3yc

— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2024

• When: Monday, January 15th, 2024. 8:15pm EST.
• Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
• TV: ESPN, ABC
• Radio: 93.1 Jack FM (Eagles) // WXYT-FM 97.1 (Buccaneers)
• Live Stream: NFL+
• NFL Odds: Eagles (-3) // Buccaneers (+3)

Why Bet on the Philadelphia Eagles?

At one point, the Eagles were 10-1 and Super Bowl favorites but lost five of their final six to not even repeat as NFC East champions as they are the No. 5 seed – Dallas won the division. Philly went 0-6 ATS to end the season, the first team to accomplish that feat and make the playoffs since the San Francisco 49ers failed to cover in eight straight games in 2002.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni played some starters but not all on Sunday at the Giants and Philly was pounded 27-10. Star receiver A.J. Brown injured his right knee in the first quarter and later was ruled out of the game. Safety Reed Blankenship (groin), starting right guard Cam Jurgens (eye) and safety Sydney Brown (knee) also were ruled out – Brown is done for the season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts injured the middle finger on his throwing hand but stayed in the game before Sirianni decided to pull several key starters late in the second quarter with the Eagles down 24-0. Brown and Hurts will play Monday but not likely be close to 100 percent.

The Philly defense was one of the NFL’s best last season but one of the worst this year. A switch from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia as the defensive play-caller has not led to the desired turnaround. The Eagles struggle on third down, in the red zone and in pass defense, and now the strength of the unit — rush defense — is faltering as well.

The key for Sirianni and the coaching staff is to unlock what helped the Eagles get to a league-best 10-1 start.

“We’ve got a lot of good players that I know will give everything they’ve got,” Sirianni said. “We’ve got a lot of players that know what it takes to get to the top. We’ve got a lot of guys in that locker room who know how to win playoff games. We’ve got a lot of coaches who know how to win playoff games. That’s what makes you confident, is that.”

Hurts threw 23 touchdown passes and ran for another 15 scores this season, wideouts Brown and DeVonta Smith each surpassed 1,000 yards, as did running back D’Andre Swift on the ground. Swift and Brown both made the Pro Bowl, as did tackle Lane Johnson, center Jason Kelce, guard Landon Dickerson and outside linebacker Haason Reddick.

Philadelphia defeated the Bucs 25-11 in Week 3 in Tampa on Monday, dominating on the ground with 201 rushing yards and eating up the final 9-plus minutes of the clock with a 15-play drive. Swift gained 130 of the team’s 201 rushing yards. The Eagles were 10-of-16 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs. Hurts was 23-of-37 passing and the offense rolled up a season-best 472 total net yards.

Why Bet on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Tampa Bay won ugly 9-0 at Carolina in Week 18 to win the NFC South. Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield recorded a sack and forced fumble in the win. Winfield has six games with at least one sack this season and is the fourth defensive back since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, with six such games in a season, joining Jamal Adams (eight games in 2020), Dave Duerson (six in 1986) and Roman Harper (six in 2011). Winfield is the first defensive back since 2000 with six sacks and six forced fumbles in a season. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He and Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates were the only two players in the NFC to win the award twice in 2023.

With five wins in their last six games, the Buccaneers believe they are peaking at the right time and hope to make some noise now that they’re in the dance.

“This season had a lot of ups and downs,” said linebacker Lavonte David. “We started off strong, then we hit low and then we had a good stretch. Now we really just want to stay consistent. It is a one-game season. We always tell the guys it is a one-game season. It is a small area for mistakes. We definitely are excited and happy.”

The Buccaneers have now qualified for the postseason in four consecutive seasons, with their Wild Card berth in 2020 leading to a thrilling run to Super Bowl LV, in which they became the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in its home stadium. This is just the second time in team history the Bucs have recorded four straight playoff seasons.

Tampa Bay’s offense was still taking shape in September, with a new coordinator in Dave Canales and a new quarterback in Baker Mayfield. The Bucs gained just 174 total net yards as the Eagles stuffed the run, got after Mayfield, and locked down wide receiver Mike Evans, who had just 3 receptions for 14 yards through three quarters.

Eagles vs. Buccaneers Betting Trends

• Philadelphia is 0-6 ATS in the last 6 games.
• The Eagles are 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
• The totals went under in 7 of Philadelphia’s last 8 games on the road.
• Tampa Bay is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games.
• The Buccaneers are 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
• The totals went under in 12 of Tampa Bay’s last 18 games.

Eagles vs. Buccaneers Expert Betting Predictions

Eagles 23, Bucs 20.

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