Bucs coach Todd Bowles says Eagles are a ‘tough team to beat’ despite recent struggles

The Eagles appear to be spiraling out of control ahead of their first-round playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have lost five of their last six, including a 27-10 loss to the New York Giants in the regular-season finale on Sunday.

Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles, whose team clinched the NFC South on the final day of the season, said Monday that he, like most people, doesn’t know what’s ailing the Birds, who beat his Bucs earlier this season. The former Eagles secondary coach said he’s hoping a film session might give him a better grasp on why the team dropped off over the final month-plus of the season.

“I haven’t dove deep into them yet, but obviously they’re a talented team,” Bowles said. “They’ve had some injuries over the past few weeks as well. Can’t really put a finger on it until I watch more film right now, but again, they still won double-digit games, they’re a very talented team, they went to the Super Bowl last year. They’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

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The Eagles lost cornerback Darius Slay after the loss to Dallas to knee surgery on Dec. 16 and linebacker Zach Cunningham has also missed time. On Sunday, they were without DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift, and Fletcher Cox to start — and then lost A.J. Brown, Sydney Brown, and even Jalen Hurts to injury.

While the Eagles have been sliding, the Buccaneers have won five of their last six, surging up the NFC South standings to earn a home playoff game.

The Eagles took down Tampa Bay, 25-11, in their first meeting in Week 3. The defense limited the Buccaneers to 174 yards in that game, limiting Baker Mayfield to 146 yards and one touchdown passing.

The two teams meet again under drastically different circumstances.

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Now under the direction of Matt Patricia, the Birds defense gave up 415 yards to the Giants after allowing 449 yards to the Cardinals the week before. Perhaps that’s why Bowles said Monday that he isn’t thinking about the previous matchup between the two teams going into Monday night’s game.

“I don’t think it compares at all,” Bowles said. “It’s about the same, for the most part. It doesn’t compare because we played them so early in the year. We were still growing, I’m sure they were still growing. Playoff time is different because it’s one and done. Everybody’s nicked up, everybody’s hurt, it’s just a matter of who makes the most mistakes.”