Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has played in 45 playoff games in his career, or 45 more than Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has.
Brady has played in 10 Super Bowls and won seven. Brady is not only the NFL’s all-time leader in postseason games, but in passing yards (12,449) and touchdown passes (83).
Hurts, at 23 years old, is the youngest quarterback to start a playoff game in Eagles history. He was 3 years old when Brady played in his first playoff game.
But don’t ask Hurts about that. He is never one to idolize another team’s quarterback, and he wasn’t about to start Wednesday when asked about his earliest memories of Brady.
“I don’t remember,” he said.
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Hurts wouldn’t elaborate further.
Surely, Hurts knows Brady’s history – and how the Buccaneers have several key players with a lengthy playoff résum´s. That includes tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will be playing in his 21st playoff game, or 18 more than Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
In all, the Bucs have eight players with at least eight playoff games of experience. The Eagles have three, led by practice squad tight end Richard Rodgers with 10 (nine with Green Bay); Brandon Brooks, who’s on injured reserve, with eight (two with Houston); and long snapper Rick Lovato, also with eight (two with Green Bay).
In addition, the Eagles have just 10 players remaining from their Super Bowl team in 2017. The Buccaneers have pretty much everyone back from their Super Bowl team last season.
But Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, a first-time playoff head coach, said the Eagles’ apparent lack of playoff experience is somewhat misleading.
“We have some great players on this football team that have played in … the Super Bowl,” Sirianni said. “So what a great opportunity those guys have that were here in 2017 to lead the group going through the playoffs.”
Those players still make up the core of the Eagles’ roster in defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, right tackle Lane Johnson, center Jason Kelce, defensive end Derek Barnett and safety Rodney McLeod.
Three others – right guard Brandon Brooks, defensive end Brandon Graham and left guard Isaac Seumalo – are on injured reserve.
Still, their message resonates with the several key players who have never played in a postseason game, such as Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
In fact, Sirianni said Kelce came up to him earlier this week and told him: “The things that lose you games in the regular season, also lose you games in the playoffs.”
That refers to assignments, fundamentals and “minute details.”
Sirianni added around the same time, one of his assistants found a video from when the late Kobe Bryant spoke to the team in December 2017 when the Eagles were in Los Angeles. He said Bryant had the same message that Kelce did.
Sirianni said, in the video, Bryant described “a fundamental mistake” in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. Here’s what happened: The San Antonio Spurs didn’t box out Miami’s Chris Bosh, who was able to rebound LeBron James’ missed 3-pointer.
Bosh passed the ball out to Ray Allen beyond the 3-point line. Allen sank the shot with 5.2 seconds left to force overtime. Instead of the Spurs closing out the game and the series, Miami won in overtime, then took Game 7.
Sirianni said that’s the message he’s sending to his team this week.
Besides Hurts and Smith, those playing in their first playoff game include wide receivers Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins; offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson and Nate Herbig; and linebacker Alex Singleton.
In addition, running back Miles Sanders has played in one playoff game, and cornerback Darius Slay, who’s in his ninth NFL season, has played in only two.
Kelce has played in seven playoff games, including the Super Bowl run in 2017.
“In the playoffs, it comes down to the little minute detail because the games are that much closer, the teams are that much closer,” Kelce said. “It seems like even more so in the playoffs, it comes back to the root fundamentals, and the techniques.”
Here, Sirianni mentions how Hurts, Smith and Dickerson all played in national championship games while at Alabama. Hurts also made it to the college football playoff at Oklahoma.
“I think any experience I’ve had prior to coming into the NFL, all of those games played in college, at Oklahoma and Alabama, been on some very big stages,” Hurts said. “I think all of those things have kind of helped me. I definitely want to use those things to my benefit going into this game.”
Smith, for one, has certainly performed in that environment. As a true freshman at Alabama in 2017, Smith caught the championship-winning 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime from Tua Tagovailoa, on a second-and-26 play.
Tagovailoa had replaced Hurts at halftime of the game.
But the season before, Hurts was a true freshman, and he quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to the national championship game against Clemson. Hurts’ 30-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left gave Alabama the lead.
But Clemson QB Deshaun Watson led the Tigers to the game-winning touchdown with 1 second left.
Last season, Smith had 215 receiving yards in the national championship – in the first half before leaving with a hand injury.
“Sometimes it’s more dangerous playing the guys that don’t know no better,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said. “They just keep on firing and playing fast. They don’t have to think about it. Sometimes you think about it too much, you put pressure on yourself.”
Chance are, that won’t happen to Brady.
Eagles DC Gannon has job interview
It didn’t seem possible when the season began and the Eagles had allowed five quarterbacks over a span of seven games to complete at least 80% of their passes.
But defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has turned that around over the second half of the season. So much so that a report surfaced that Gannon will interview for the Denver Broncos vacant head coaching job.
Gannon confirmed the report, then quickly added that “my sole focus is on Tampa Bay.” He would not say when the interview will take place.
Miles Sanders practices
The Eagles’ injury report listed running back Miles Sanders as a limited participant as he tries working his way back from his broken hand. The report was an estimation since the Eagles held a walkthrough. Hurts (ankle) was listed as a full participant. DE Josh Sweat (illness) wouldn’t have practiced. The same is true of Kelce (rest), DT Fletcher Cox (rest) and RT Lane Johnson (rest/knee).
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
