Tom Brady had some unfinished postseason business with the Philadelphia Eagles entering Sunday's NFC Wild Card Round matchup at Raymond James Stadium.
Consider that business finished.
Brady's No. 2 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismantled the No. 7 seed Eagles 31-15, as Brady exacted revenge on Philly for upsetting his New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
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Here's how Mac Jones' postseason debut stacked up against Brady's
The Eagles never stood a chance in this one, committing three turnovers while falling into a 31-0 hole and failing to score until early in the fourth quarter. But Brady certainly did his part on offense, completing 78.4% of his passes (29 for 37) for 271 yards with two touchdown passes and zero interceptions to finish with a 115.2 passer rating.
This was Brady's 46th playoff game, and only once has he been more accurate in the passing game. Here are his top three playoff games by completion percentage:
- Patriots vs. Jaguars, 2007 Divisional Round: 92.9% (26 for 28)
- Bucs vs. Eagles, 2021 Wild Card Round: 78.4% (29 for 37)
- Patriots vs. Chargers, 2018 Divisional Round: 77.3% (34 for 44)
That performance helped lift the 44-year-old to his 17th divisional round in 22 seasons. He's a perfect 5-0 in the playoffs with the Bucs, who have scored at least 30 points in all five of those wins.
NFL
Bucs vs. Eagles highlights
No Leonard Fournette? No Ronald Jones? No Antonio Brown? No problem.
After first-quarter rushing touchdowns from Giovani Bernard and Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Brady found old friend Rob Gronkowski for a wide-open touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Gronkowski now has caught 15 postseason TD passes from Brady (12 with New England; three with Tampa Bay). The two have connected to score a total of 105 touchdowns, the second-most of any QB-receiver duo in NFL history.
Brady later found wide receiver Mike Evans for a 36-yard touchdown strike that extended Tampa Bay's lead to 31-0.
Brady and Evans have quite the connection as well; that was Evans' 30th touchdown reception from Brady since the beginning of the 2020 season (including playoffs).
If the No. 3 seed Dallas Cowboys defeat the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers in their Wild Card matchup Sunday, they'd draw Brady's Bucs in next weekend's divisional round. If Dallas loses, Tampa Bay would face the winner of the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.