Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 09 Philadelphia Eagles 31
POST-SEASON: NFC Divisional Wild-Card Game
Eagles QB Donovan McNabb threw for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing for 54 yards, as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay from start to finish. Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson was intercepted four times, twice by Damon Moore. It was the second consecutive season in which Philadelphia eliminated Tampa Bay from the playoffs during the wild card round, and two days later, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy was fired. (We were not fans of this decision at all)
On the Eagles first drive of the game, Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson intercepted a pass from McNabb and returned it 9 yards to the Eagles 36-yard line, setting up a 36-yard field goal from Martin Gramatica. But McNabb made up for his mistake with a 39-yard run on third down and 5 on Philadelphia's ensuing possession, setting up a field goal for David Akers that tied the game, 3–3. In the second period, McNabb completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards on a 73-yard drive, including a 41-yard completion to Todd Pinkston, that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chad Lewis.
The Buccaneers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive, but once again could not dent the end zone and had to settle for another Gramatica field goal, cutting their deficit to 10–6. Later in the quarter, Eagles punter Sean Landeta pinned the Buccaneers back at their own 5-yard line and Tampa Bay could not get a first down with their next drive. After receiving Mark Royals' short 28-yard punt at the Buccaneers 31-yard line, McNabb threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley with 35 seconds left in the half. But Tampa bay managed to respond with Gramatica's third field goal before halftime, set up by a 46-yard reception from Keyshawn Johnson, cutting their deficit to 17–9.
But Tampa Bay was completely dominated in the second half. Moore recorded his first interception from Brad Johnson at the Eagles 38-yard line on the Buccaneers opening drive of the third quarter. Later on, the Eagles drove 60 yards in six plays and scored on a 25-yard touchdown run from rookie Correll Buckhalter. Johnson tried to rally his team back with a pair of drives deep into Eagles territory, but both of them were ended with interceptions. First, defensive back Troy Vincent picked off a pass from Johnson in the end zone with 4:09 left in the third quarter. Then late in the fourth quarter, safety Brian Dawkins intercepted Johnson on Philadelphia's 3-yard line. Following a punt, Moore put the game away by recording his second interception and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Larry Nemmers
- UMPIRE: Chad Brown
- HEAD LINESMAN: Tony Veteri
- LINE JUDGE: Walt Anderson
- SIDE JUDGE: Laird Hayes
- BACK JUDGE: Jim Howey
- FIELD JUDGE: Peter Morelli
- REPLAY OFFICIAL: Dean Blandino
- VIDEO OPERATOR: Alt: Steve Wilson
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 10:48-1Q Gramatica FG36
- EAGLES: 06:18-1Q Akers FG26
- EAGLES: 12:17-2Q Lewis 16 pass from McNabb (Akers kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 06:13-2Q Gramatica FG32
- EAGLES: 00:35-2Q Staley 23 pass from McNabb (Akers kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 00:00-2Q Gramatica FG27
- EAGLES: 06:57-3Q Buckhalter 25 run (Akers kick)
- EAGLES: 02:08-4Q Moore 59 interception return (Akers kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #81 J. Green
- LT: #67 K. Walker
- LG: #64 R. McDaniel
- C: #62 J. Christy
- RG: #60 C. Coleman
- RT: #71 J. Wunsch
- TE: #83 D. Moore
- WR: #19 K. Johnson
- QB: #14 B. Johnson
- RB: #28 W. Dunn
- TE: #40 M. Alstott
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #94 S. White
- NT: #92 A. McFarland
- DT: #99 W. Sapp
- RE: #97 S. Rice
- SLB: #21 D. Abraham
- MLB: #59 J. Duncan
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- LCB: #25 B. Kelly
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #47 J. Lynch
- FS: #34 D. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 3 Royals, 7 Gramatica, 22 Stecker, 26 Smith, 38 Howell, 43 Cook, 46 Gibson, 50 Gooch, 51 Singleton, 52 Webster, 53 Quarles, 69 Pierson, 75 Washington, 78 Jones, 80 Yoder, 84 McDermott, 86 Williams, 87 Murphy, 89 Roberg, 96 Wyms
DID NOT PLAY
- 10 King, 85 Anthony, 91 Darby
INACTIVE
- 1 Hamilton, 4 Brien, 27 Abdullah, 65 Hochstein, 68 Grice, 76 Curry, 88 Wynn, 98 Cannida
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Alstott 12-32, Dunn 11-29, B.Johnson 1-2.
- EAGLES: McNabb 4-57, Buckhalter 9-55, Staley 15-34, Thrash 1-2.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Johnson 36-22-202-4-0.
- EAGLES: McNabb 25-16-194-1-2
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Dunn 8-37, Alstott 5-32, K.Johnson 3-75, Williams 2-25, Green 2-15, Moore 1-13, Yoder 1-5.
- EAGLES: Pinkston 5-62, Lewis 4-60, Thrash 3-32, Staley 2-27, Buckhalter 2-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none.
- EAGLES: Moore 2-59, Vincent 1-0, Dawkins 1-0.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Stecker 4-91, Murphy 2-47.
- EAGLES: Mitchell 1-27, D.Douglas 1-16, Walker 1-9.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 3-10.
- EAGLES: Mitchell 2-10.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Rice 2-7, White 1-1.
- EAGLES: H.Douglas 1-7.
