Summary

  • The final two play-off games on wildcard weekend

  • Philadelphia Eagles 9-32 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Pittsburgh Steelers 17-31 Buffalo Bills

  • Josh Allen leads Bills to victory with four total TDs

  • Bills host Kansas City Chiefs next in heavyweight match

  • Ex-number one pick Baker Mayfield, on fourth team since 2021, leads Bucs to victory

  • Last year's Super Bowl finalist Eagles fall flat following late-season slump

  • Bucs travel to Detroit Lions in next round

  1. touchdown

    Touchdown - Bucs!published at 01:39 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Tampa BayImage source, Getty Images

    David Moore is wide open when he catches a pass from Baker Mayfield, but he still has a heck of a lot of work to do as he turns up field, breaks a couple of weak tackles and the barges into the end zone for a 44-yard score.

    That's a great effort from Moore, but woeful from Philly, firstly to allow him to get so open, then the tackling was pretty ordinary and even a bit half-hearted, which in a play-off game is terrible.

  2. Drop!published at 01:38 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Of all people, Mike Evans drops what would've been a walk-in touchdown after Baker Mayfield launched a beautiful rainbow of throw over the top with Evans open.

  3. Big playpublished at 01:37 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Big play for the Bucs as David Moore collects a 22-yard pass from Baker Mayfield, and it gets better as there's a grab of his facemask by the Eagles and that adds on another 15 yards.

  4. Read all about itpublished at 01:34 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Pittsburgh Steelers 17-31 Buffalo Bills

    That was some performance in the early game by Josh Allen as the Bills beat the Steelers. Three passing touchdowns and that monster rushing TD - he'll have to be on top form next week too when the Chiefs roll into town.

    Read Ben Collins' report of the Bills' dominant victory over the Steelers.

    JOsh AllenImage source, Getty Images
  5. Eagles puntpublished at 01:32 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Not the best throw, not the best play call to be fair, on third down as the Eagles come up empty and have to punt it away.

  6. The glove is off..published at 01:30 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    We saw Jalen Hurts warming up with that glove on his right hand, but he obviously wasn't comfortable as he's taken it off before taking the field with the Philly offence.

    Expect them to run, run and run some more tonight to save Hurts from having to throw too much.

    The Eagles also have a dominant offensive line and ran for over 200 yards here in their regular season victory over the Bucs.

  7. field goal

    Field goal - Bucspublished at 01:25 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Mayfield tries a high ball into the end zone but it's nowhere near his target and Tampa Bay have to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin.

    The Bucs have had their problems converting in the red zone this season and again they've missed out having had the Eagles defence on the run.

  8. Close!published at 01:24 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Baker Mayfield scurries forward nicely for a guy with a bad ankle - and he's not the quickest even when fully fit.

    He then fires a bullet into the end zone but the receiver can't bring it in.

    Baker MayfieldImage source, Getty Images
  9. Postpublished at 01:20 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    Nothing wrong with Baker Mayfield's arm as he slings a dart down the middle of the field for a 29-yard connection with Mike Evans - one of the premier receivers on the league.

    The secondary is definitely the weak point for this Eagles defence so even though he's hurt, Mayfield will have to throw plenty of passes you expect tonight.

  10. Kick-off!published at 01:18 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    And we're underway in our final wildcard play-off game - it seems an eternity since we started the round way back on Saturday (I think) so congratulations if you've been with us all the way and you've made it this far!

    The Bucs have the ball first so let's see how Baker Mayfield looks as he deals with rib and ankle injuries.

  11. Jalen's Hurtpublished at 01:16 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Jalen HurtsImage source, Getty Images

    Jalen Hurts is playing with a glove on his throwing hand for the first time in his career after suffering that dislocated finger last week.

    He doesn't sound too happy with the situation so it'll be interesting to see how much zip he has on his passes when the game starts.

  12. Hurts' figures bettered by Mayfield this seasonpublished at 01:15 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    2023 regular season stats for Jalen Hurts and Baker MayfieldImage source, Reuters

    But for Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts would have been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player last season.

    This season the Eagles quarterback has actually posted career-high figures for passing yards, touchdown passes and rushing touchdowns (15), but those have all been bettered by Baker Mayfield, whose Tampa Bay team have barely been on the radar all year.

    And despite those numbers, Hurts has also thrown 15 interceptions compared to just six in 2022.

  13. Story of the season: Eagles flying before late-season slumppublished at 01:14 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen HurtsImage source, Reuters

    The Philadelphia Eagles played their part in a Super Bowl epic last season, losing narrowly to the Kansas City Chiefs. But they brushed off that disappointment in the off-season and for the second year running, they were the last team to lose their unbeaten record.

    Quarterback Jalen Hurts was superb against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving weekend as the Eagles fought back to claim a thrilling 37–34 win in overtime and go 10-1 for the season.

    But the following week they lost 42-19 at home to the San Francisco 49ers, who went on to clinch the NFC's top seed while Philly lurched into the post-season. They lost five of their last six games to not only miss out on a first-round bye for the play-offs but home advantage altogether. Can they arrest that slump?

  14. Evans keeps rollingpublished at 01:08 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Mike EvansImage source, Reuters

    Baker Mayfield was the number one draft pick in 2018 and spent four years with the Cleveland Browns yet this season he posted career-high figures for passing yards and touchdown passes.

    Perhaps the 28-year-old could be the long-term successor to their Super Bowl winning-quarterback Tom Brady. It helps when you have a target like Mike Evans, who remains the Bucs' biggest threat.

    This season the 30-year-old registered 1,255 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, joining Jerry Rice as the only players in NFL history to put together 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards. Not bad company to be in.

  15. Ready to go in Floridapublished at 01:05 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Tampa BayImage source, Getty Images

    After all that snow and ice up north, we're down in Florida for our final wildcard game, where it's obviously a lot more pleasant.

  16. Story of the season: Strong finish sees Bucs make play-offspublished at 01:01 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker MayfieldImage source, Reuters

    Having played for both the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams last season, Baker Mayfield signed for the Buccaneers in the off-season, hoping to make Tampa Bay home.

    After a positive start to the season, the Bucs slumped from a 3-1 record to 4–7 after losing on Thanksgiving weekend. But with the NFC South being so weak this season, there was still hope of getting into the play-offs as division winners.

    They beat divisional rivals Carolina and Atlanta, and then triumphed over Green Bay at Lambeau Field. New Orleans beat Tampa Bay in their penultimate game of the season to set up a win-and-in scenario for the Super Bowl 55 winners on the final day, and the Bucs ground out a 9-0 win over Carolina to win the NFC South and reach the play-offs for a fourth straight season.

  17. Have the Eagles still got it?published at 00:57 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen HurtsImage source, Reuters

    The 'tush push', the 'brotherly shove' - whatever you call it, for most of this season it seemed the rest of the NFL still hadn't found a way to stop Philadelphia's hugely-effective quarterback sneak play.

    However, given the Eagles' late-season slump, have their opponents now figured it out?

    After losing 35-31 at home to Arizona in their penultimate game of the regular season, coach Nick Siranni said: "We have to get things fixed - and we have to get them fixed fast."

    They didn't in time for their 27-10 loss to the New York Giants last week. Quarterback Jalen Hurts said: “It's about how you respond to it - and we’ve got to respond."

    Tonight is their chance, although they will have to manage without star receiver AJ Brown. Only four players had more receiving yards this season than Brown (1,456).

  18. Coming up next...published at 00:56 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (01:15 GMT)

    One more to go! Next up we've got the Eagles at the Bucs, where Philly are favourites but after the way they limped into the play-offs they've got plenty of questions to answer...

  19. AFC fixtures setpublished at 00:54 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    We now know the final four in the AFC and we've got two tasty games to look forward to next week.

    • Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
    • Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
  20. All about Allenpublished at 00:51 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

    Pittsburgh Steelers 17-31 Buffalo Bills

    Phoebe Shecter, former Buffalo Bills coach, on Sky Sports: "Josh Allen is the heart of this team. He leads everything on the field for them."