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With the recent losses of Chris Godwin to a season-ending knee injury and Antonio Brown to his own demons, many would expect that the Buccaneers X-Factor for their playoff matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles would be Mike Evans. After all, he is by far the Bucs' best receiver and this team passed the ball more than any other in the NFL in 2021. While Evans will be important in this game, he is far from being the X-Factor that the Buccaneers need to beat the Eagles.
So, who could it be? Leonard Fournette is coming back from injured reserve, but do the Buccaneers run the ball enough to justify putting him as the X-Factor? Probably not. How about Tom Brady? That one is too easy, we all know that quarterback is the most important player. The X-Factor is someone who the opposing team might not expect to be the game MVP but who wouldn't surprise his own team in the slightest.
For more insight on the Buccaneers' Wild Card playoff matchup against the Eagles, listen below:
With that being said, here is our Buccaneers X-Factor.
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Buccaneers X-Factor vs. Eagles in 2022 NFL Playoffs
The reason that Evans is not the X-Factor in this game is that the team also has one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history and he has the ultimate chemistry with Bucs' quarterback Tom Brady. Rob Gronkowski averages a pitiful two catches per game in Tampa Bay losses in 2021. In their wins, Gronk has averaged five catches per game. All of his touchdowns have come in wins and in the last two games (without Godwin and then Brown,) it was Gronkowski and not Evans that received a huge bump in targets, catches, and yards. In his last two games, Gronkowski has 14 catches for 252 yards, signaling that he will be Brady's new favorite target…or an old one?
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Regardless of whether Gronkowski will be a new or old target for Brady, he will be the MAIN target and that is what will matter on Sunday. Facing an Eagles team that has been the worst in the league when it comes to covering tight ends, Brady will look to exploit the Eagles in that department from start to finish…or at least until the Eagles manage to stop it–if they can. Facing Philadelphia has been like going to Disneyland for opposing tight ends, and the greatest post-season tight end of all time will be ready to jump down their throats from the first whistle to the last.
Just in postseason games, Gronkowski has an extra season's worth of stats. In his 20 career playoff games, Gronk has 89 catches on 144 targets with 1,273 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. All of those stats have come with Brady as his quarterback, as well, so it's not like he is projected to do anything unexpected. This is who Gronk has always been. He may limp his way through the regular season, but unless he's having surgery, you aren't keeping him from balling out in the playoffs. That has been proven time and again and this year will be no different unless the Eagles can fix their tight end woes by Sunday. While it may be safe to say that fixing the issue that quickly is not likely, nothing is impossible…so stay tuned.
