25 things to know about the well-traveled Baker Mayfield and Buccaneers

This will be the Eagles’ sixth playoff meeting against the Buccaneers, breaking a tie with the Giants for most against a single opponent. The Bucs are 3-2, including wins in the last two, when Ronde Barber (Jan. 19, 2003) and Tom Brady (Jan. 16, 2022) were giving the Philadelphia region agita.

The bizarre spiral the Eagles have been on this year would be cemented with a loss to Tampa Bay. The oddsmakers have the Eagles favored by a field goal for whatever that’s worth.

Let’s take a break from the 53-car pileup that is the Eagles and check out 25 things to know about the Buccaneers.

1. The Buccaneers led the NFL in most snaps played by rookies (5,660). Right guard Cody Mauch, a rook out of North Dakota State, was one of three offensive linemen to play every snap this season. Right tackle Luke Goedeke, in his second season out of Central Michigan, and center Robert Hainsey (third season, Notre Dame) were the other two who didn’t miss a play.

2. Jordan Mailata is the only Eagles player who didn’t miss a snap this season. He was in for all 1,147 offensive plays. Chuck Bednarik must’ve played 2,000 snaps a season in his prime.

3. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles played at Temple from 1982 to 1985 and won a Super Bowl with Washington after breaking into the NFL as an undrafted safety. He spent one season (2012) as an Eagles assistant coach under Andy Reid and was tabbed to be the defensive coordinator after the Juan Castillo disaster. You think the Sean Desai/Matt Patricia drama is a disaster? Imagine offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland getting promoted to defensive coordinator.

4. Tampa Bay, which was 4-7 at the same time the Eagles were 10-1, closed the season winning five of its final six. The Eagles, you may have heard, lost five of their final six.

5. The Buccaneers defense blitzed on 40.1% of opponents’ drop-backs, the third-highest total in the league. Only the Vikings (51.5%) and the Giants (45.4%) blitzed more frequently. The Eagles blitzed 22.0% of the time, which was 24th most frequent.

6. Tampa hurried opposing QBs on just 6.5% of their 611 drop-backs, which ranked just 18th in the league. The Eagles defense, at 9.3%, ranked sixth in hurry percentage.

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7. Keep an eye on safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who was second on the Bucs with six sacks. Winfield’s 15 career sacks (in just four seasons) already are a franchise record for a safety.

8. Kicker Chase McLaughlin has been with seven teams in his five-year NFL career, including two stints with Indianapolis. He was 29-for-31 on field goals this season, including 7-for-8 from 50 yards-plus. This will be his first playoff game.

9. Bucs wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are one of three tandems to each have 1,000 yards receiving this season. Miami’s Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle and the Eagles’ A.J. Brown/DeVonta Smith are the others.

10. Evans has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of his 10 NFL seasons, most ever to start a career. While 1,000 yards isn’t the statistical accomplishment it used to be because of the expanded schedule, Evans has been pretty reliable for the Bucs. His 13 touchdowns this year were one off his career best.

11. Evans was the second wide receiver drafted in 2014. He went seventh that year. Three spots after Buffalo took Sammy Watkins (ugh). That was the year the Eagles took Marcus Smith at No. 26 (double ugh).

12. Godwin has 529 career receptions, third among former Penn State players. Only Allen Robinson (562) and Bobby Engram (650) have more. Godwin hails from Middletown, Del., which is about 60 miles south of Philadelphia.

13. Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett and his wife, Jordanna, started the Arrayah Hope Foundation following the drowning death of their 2-year-old daughter in April. The foundation provides swimming lessons and other water safety initiatives for children in the Tampa area.

14. Barrett came back after suffering a torn Achilles tendon last season and had 4½ sacks in 16 games. He was the Bucs nominee for the Ed Block Courage Award for dedication to the sport.

» READ MORE: Finding another Shane Steichen won’t be easy, and other thoughts on the Eagles’ coaching future

15. This is just the fourth time the Eagles have ever been favored in a road playoff game. They lost at Arizona in the 2008 NFC championship game, and at Tampa Bay in a 1979 divisional round game. They thumped Minnesota in a 2008 wild-card contest.

16. Tampa Bay was a sterling 11-6 against the spread this year, but just 3-5 against the spread at home. The Eagles were 7-8-2 against the spread overall, 4-4-1 on the road. The Birds are favored by 3 at most sportsbooks.

17. The Glazer family, which owns the Buccaneers, made its money in real estate, particularly owning and renting shopping malls. The Shops at City Line (4500 City Ave.) are among their assets. They have properties all over the country, but oddly none in Florida.

18. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is with his fourth team in the last three years. He signed with the Bucs in March to take over for Tom Brady, and had arguably the best year of his career.

19. When Jalen Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, he used to watch game films of Mayfield’s days as the Sooners’ quarterback. Hurts even sought guidance from Mayfield, the 2017 Heisman winner. Hurts finished second to LSU’s Joe Burrow for the Heisman in 2019.

20. Mayfield is 1-1 in his career in the postseason. Both games were in 2020, when the Browns beat the Steelers but lost to Kansas City when Chad Henne came in for injured Patrick Mahomes.

21. Linebacker Lavonte David has been a Buccaneers team captain for 10 years. He’s the NFL’s active career leader in solo tackles (1,033) and forced fumbles (18). David, who turns 34 on Jan. 23, signed a one-year deal in March for $7 million. He led the Bucs with 133 tackles this season.

22. David was a second-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2012 out of Nebraska. In 2021, he kept a promise to his late mother, Lynette, by completing his studies and earning his degree from Nebraska.

23. Bucs running back Rachaad White had 1,539 scrimmage yards, including 549 receiving — third among RBs leaguewide. Only Breece Hall (591) and Christian McCaffrey (564) had more receiving yards. White was held to 38 yards rushing in a loss to the Eagles in Week 3, back when the Birds defense used to stop the run.

24. White is a strong supporter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program after having a mentor of his own when he was a child in Kansas City, Mo.

25. “Everybody needs somebody to lean on,” White told the Tampa Bay Times last year. “To have my Big [Brother] and to see a different perspective on values and life — even down moments in your life where you have somebody to help you get through it. It changed things for me. It had a huge impact on my life. It’s made me want to go out and give back to the community and start my own foundation to help people.”

Sources: Pro-Football-Reference.com, Inquirer research