There should be no reason for the Philadelphia Eagles to fear Tampa Bay. The Bucs have an 8-9 record and are nine-point underdogs to Dallas on Monday night. But history tells another story, and it didn’t start with last year’s playoff loss in Tampa.
After going 12-4 in 2002, Philadelphia welcomed Tampa Bay for the NFC championship in what would be the last game ever played in Veterans Stadium. The Eagles were heavy favorites.
In 2001 and 2002, Philadelphia eliminated Tampa from the playoffs without giving up a single touchdown. The Bucs had lost their last six road playoff games and had a reputation for losing games in cold weather. There was no way the Eagles could lose.
Except they did. Tampa Bay overcame an early deficit and rode a 92-yard pick-six from Ronde Barber all the way to Super Bowl XXXVII where they beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
