The Eagles will play of their first playoff sport in two seasons Sunday, taking over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers within the first spherical of an NFL postseason few anticipated the Birds to play in.
After beginning the season 2-5, head coach Nick Sirianni shifted gears and refocused the offense with a run-first mentality led by second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose speedy legs and elusiveness have reminded a few of a former Birds quarterback — Michael Vick.
“As shifty as he’s and the velocity he has, he’s most likely as near Mike Vick with that elusive velocity, how lethal he’s together with his potential to scramble and prolong these performs,” Saints defensive finish Cameron Jordan stated forward of their sport towards the Eagles on Nov. 21, where Hurts ran for three touchdowns.
Whereas Hurts lacks the arm power and different pure skills Vick was blessed with, the four-time Professional Bowler stated he’s been impressed with Hurts’ willpower and improvement from the primary sport of the season to now, as he makes his debut within the NFL playoffs.
» READ MORE: The playoff struggles that led Jalen Hurts to his first NFL postseason
“He was capable of get higher and be taught from these early errors and never make the identical mistake twice. That’s all you need with a younger quarterback,” Vick advised The Inquirer. “I believe he figured it out. Extra importantly, he’s acquired the coach in place to assist him grow to be a greater participant on all ranges.”
Vick, who’s now in his fifth 12 months cohosting the pre-pregame present Fox NFL Kickoff, additionally had plenty of reward for Sirianni, whom he known as a “true gamers’ coach.” Sirianni actually has a knack for locating distinctive methods to inspire his gamers — this week, he said he showed them an old video of late NBA star Kobe Bryant addressing the team in 2017.
“It simply appeared like he’s a complete lot of enjoyable to be round,” Vick stated of Sirianni. “I can see why they’ve a profitable tradition over there proper now. It’s good to see him persevering with the profitable tradition that had been in-built Philadelphia as a result of that’s what followers demand.”
One among Sirianni’s motivational movies truly included Vick. Earlier within the season, the staff requested him to movie a brief motivational speech he directed at Hurts, suggesting the younger passer develop a powerful reference to heart Jason Kelce.
“I put him on the spot and advised him to verify he gels with Kelce, and that they develop their quarterback-center relationship,” Vick stated, “That’s most likely probably the most supportive relationship you might have as a quarterback with anyone within the group, outdoors the top coach.”
Vick sat down with Hurts for an interview earlier within the week, which is able to air on Fox NFL Kickoff Sunday morning. Calling the sport on Fox might be longtime play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, alongside analyst Troy Aikman. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.
Right here’s all the pieces it’s good to know to observe and stream the Eagles-Buccaneers first spherical NFC playoff sport Sunday afternoon:
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The place: Lincoln Monetary Subject
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TV: Fox29 (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
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Radio: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Fast, Howard Eskin)
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Spanish radio: La Mega, 105.7 FM (Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen)
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Streaming: Fox Sports activities Go app (required authentication), fuboTV (free 7-day trial), YouTube TV, Hulu + Stay TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV (all require a subscription)
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Cellular: Eagles app, NFL Cellular app, Yahoo Sports activities app (free on smartphones and tablets inside the Philadelphia market)
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The Eagles ended the season with the NFL’s high speeding offense. The Buccaneers have the league’s third-best run protection, however performed worse because the season went on, ranking No. 16 against the run over their last 11 games.
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At 23, Jalen Hurts is nineteen years youthful than Brady, the largest age gap between starting quarterbacks within the historical past of the NFL playoffs. Sunday might be Brady’s forty sixth playoff sport, and Hurts was simply 3 years outdated when Brady made his first postseason begin in 2001.
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That is the primary time Tom Brady will face the Eagles in a playoff sport outdoors of the Tremendous Bowl, and the primary time he’s confronted the Birds within the postseason since becoming a member of the Buccaneers in 2020. General, Philadelphia is 2-2 towards Tampa Bay within the playoffs.
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Of their final 10 video games, the Eagles have scored on their first possession just three times. In the meantime, the Buccaneers have averaged 6.3 factors per sport within the first quarter, third-best within the NFL behind the Chiefs and Cowboys.
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The Eagles are 7-13 in highway playoff video games, with their final win coming within the “double doink” wild card sport towards the Chicago Bears in Soldier Subject through the 2018 playoffs.
As with each Eagles sport, workers writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, and Josh Tolentino might be overlaying the motion dwell on Twitter, which you can follow live on GameDay Central. Notes and observations concerning the sport might be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t overlook to subscribe to The Inquirer Sports Daily Newsletter.
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NBC Sports activities Philadelphia airs Birds Huddle (Taryn Hatcher, Brad Feinberg, Barrett Brooks, John Clark) at 11:30 a.m., adopted by Eagles Pregame Stay (Michael Barkann, Seth Joyner, Ray Didinger, Barrett Brooks) at midday. Eagles Postgame Stay will air following the sport.
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Fox29 airs Fox NFL Kickoff (Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Dave Wannstedt, Colin Cowherd, Michael Vick, Charles Woodson) at 11 a.m. Fox NFL Sunday (Terry Bradshaw, Curt Menefee, Howie Lengthy, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson) airs at midday.
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CBS3 airs Odds On (Derrick Gunn, Rob Ellis) at 8:30 a.m., adopted by Sunday Kickoff (Don Bell, Pat Gallen) at 11:30 a.m. The NFL At present (James Brown, Phil Simms, Invoice Cowher, Boomer Esiason, Nate Burleson) airs at 4 p.m.
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NBC10′s Eagles Gameday Kickoff (Danny Pommells, Ross Tucker, Mike Fast) airs at 9:30 a.m., adopted by Eagles Sport Plan (John Clark, Ike Reese, Mike Fast) at 10 a.m. and Highway to Victory Playoff Celebration (Ray Didinger, Barrett Brooks, Reuben Frank, Dave Zangaro) at 11:30 a.m.
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ESPN’s NFL Countdown (Sam Ponder, Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, Matt Hasselbeck, Rex Ryan) airs at 10 a.m.
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NFL Community’s pregame present NFL GameDay Morning (Wealthy Eisen, Steve Mariucci, Kurt Warner, Michael Irvin) begins at 9 a.m.
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Raiders at Bengals, 4:30 p.m., NBC (Mike Tirico, Drew Brees, Kathryn Tappen)
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Patriots at Payments, 8:15 p.m., CBS (Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)
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Eagles at Buccaneers: 1 p.m., Fox (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
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49ers at Cowboys: 4:30 p.m., CBS (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson)
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Steelers at Chiefs: 8:15 p.m., NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya)
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Cardinals at Rams: 8:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC (Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, Lisa Salters)