TAMPA, Fla. – As the game clock expired, Tom Brady raised his arms in triumph along the sideline, whirled and tossed a football into the stands.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their jubilant 44-year-old quarterback took the first step on what they hope will be a journey back to the Super Bowl, dominating the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-15, in an NFC wild-card victory Sunday.
“It only gets tougher from here,” said Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner who’s trying to help the second-seeded Bucs become the first team to repeat as NFL champions since he led the New England Patriots to back-to-back titles in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Tampa Bay set the tempo from the start, with Brady leading a pair of long touchdown drives in the opening quarter and building the lead to 17-0 by halftime. The three-time league MVP finished off the seventh-seeded Eagles with touchdown passes of 2 yards to Rob Gronkowski and 36 yards to Mike Evans, improving his dazzling playoff record to 35-11 in a record 46 postseason starts. Brady is 5-0 in the playoffs since joining the Bucs in 2020 after 20 seasons with the Patriots.
The defense did its part, too, intercepting Jalen Hurts twice in the second-year Philadelphia quarterback’s playoff debut.