Rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and wide receiver Trey Palmer spearheaded the attack in the Wild Card round. Both became catalysts, sparking a surge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their home field on Monday Night Football. Each filled a significant role for the Bucs in 2023 and made their presence felt in the climactic win-or-go-home contest at Raymond James Stadium.
Speedster Trey Palmer recorded one catch for 56 yards and a touchdown in the matchup, establishing a new record for the longest postseason touchdown catch in club history. Palmer, who ran a blazing 4.33 at the 2023 Scouting Combine, quickly accelerated off an out-breaking route, leaving cornerback James Bradberry behind. Bradberry missed the tackle and Palmer got north-south for a 56-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a 25-9 cushion as the crowd erupted. With a rare second gear to separate from defensive backs, Palmer displayed his yards-after-catch ability. As the Eagles allocated resources to defend Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, it opened opportunities for Palmer to exploit. The Bucs formulated an attack to get their playmakers in space, forcing the Eagles' secondary to make open field tackles. Philadelphia's defensive backs were no match for Palmer's agility.
Vita Vea and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey split a sack in the Wild Card contest, marking the first career postseason sack for Kancey. Tampa Bay held Philadelphia to 0-for-9 on third down conversion attempts, notching just the third time in club history (since data became available in 1991) that they have held an opponent to a third-down conversion percentage of zero, joining Week 16 of the 2011 season against Carolina and Week 15 of the 2007 season against Atlanta. Since data is available (1991), It marked the fourth time in NFL postseason history that a team has held an opponent to a third-down conversion percentage of zero, joining the L.A. Rams in the 2021 Wild Card round against the Arizona Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2018 Divisional round against the Indianapolis Colts, and the Houston Texans in the 2012 Wild Card round against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The defense changed the course of the game in the third quarter. Eagles' dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts was forced into his own end zone as Calijah Kancey charged downhill. He shot past Landon Dickerson with leverage and forced Hurts into an awaiting Anthony Nelson. Nelson finished off Hurts, who managed to get the ball out. The play was ruled as intentional grounding, rewarding Tampa Bay with a safety, resulting in an 18-9 lead for the Bucs. Throughout the ballgame, Kancey quickly shed blockers, whether a lethal cross chop against Cam Jurgens to take down Hurts or an imposing swim move to disrupt the backfield for an immediate tackle of D'Andre Swift, Kancey was a force in the first round of the playoffs. He dominated in the trenches against Philadelphia, tallying an 82.0 PFF grade, six quarterback pressures and an 80.2 pass rush grade on Monday Night Football.
