The Buccaneers marched to a Super Bowl victory last season with among the healthiest lineups in the postseason, and they returned the majority of those gamers this season. In spite of having among the most gifted rosters in the league (5 Pro Bowlers and two gamers on All-Pro groups), Tampa Bay dealt with injuries to essential gamers on both sides of the ball all season.The group’s top running back, Leonard Fournette, has missed out on time with an ankle injury. Tampa Bay’s All-Pro offensive lineman, Tristan Wirfs, hurt his ankle early in Sunday’s game. Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers’threatening slot receiver, tore his anterior cruciate ligament versus the Saints in December. Antonio Brown, whom Brady lobbied for the team to sign last season, was recently launched by the team.That left Evans, Brady’s 3rd receiving target, who had been handling a remaining hamstring injury. He caught nine passes for 117 backyards on Sunday. After his third-quarter touchdown, Evans did a back turn into completion zone, appearing to end any concerns about his health.After a 4-11-1 season in 2020 that was hindered by injuries and battles by the beginning quarterback Carson Wentz, the Eagles fired their head coach, Doug Pederson, whose relationship with Wentz had weakened. Pederson had actually coached Philadelphia to a Super Bowl win in the 2017 season. The team owner Jeffrey Lurie brought in the former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni, an obscure prospect at the time.After losing 5 of their first 7 games, the Eagles won six of their final 8 and clinched a playoff berth as the second team in the N.F.C. East, behind the Dallas Cowboys, to make the postseason. Sirianni was the only first-year head coach to lead his
group to the playoffs.Many had questioned if the Eagles had actually been checked enough, though. Of those 8 video games, only one team, Dallas, made the playoffs. The Eagles beat the Broncos, the injury-battered Saints, the Giants once in 2 games, the Jets and the Washington Football Team.After Sunday’s game, Evans was asked who he wants to see in the next round of the playoffs. Evans, a receiver, took just a couple of seconds to respond to.”Whatever team plays the most male coverage, “he said.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/sports/football/eagles-buccaneers-score-playoffs.html