How the Eagles Can Beat the Buccaneers

Super Wild Card Weekend is upon us! One of the best weekends in sports. You can put it up there with the Masters and the 1st two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Those 2 weekends are the 2 best in sports, but the NFL's Super Wild Card Weekend pulls up tightly into 3rd place. Three days, six playoff games. The nice thing about Saturday and Sunday's games this week is we don't have to have our weekend ruined by the Eagles. We get to wait until Monday Night Football to be angry and annoyed. The 5th seed Eagles travel to Tampa, Florida to take on the 4th seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We all know we've been watching an epic collapse of the once 10-1 Eagles, but if they were going to win a playoff game this is the one. They get a team that is as mediocre as can be. Tampa won the dismal NFC South with a 9-8 record. Can a mediocre team beat a good team playing like crap? Of course. The Eagles haven't done much to give anyone faith that they actually will win this game, but to win it a few things need to happen.

Tampa has a great pair of wide receivers. Mike Evans has a ticket to Canton pretty much already punched. He'll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Chris Godwin is also a very good receiver. Somehow the Eagles corners need to limit the damage that these 2 can cause, especially Evans. The Eagles need to see the Haason Reddick from last year. Let him go get the quarterback.  Stop dropping him into coverage. They're also going to need Jalen Carter to push past that rookie wall. He's a game wrecker and needs to show that again. This is the most football he's played in a season in his career, so it's natural to see a rookie slump a bit. Time to turn it around and start chucking dudes into the backfield. Get to Baker Mayfield, and make him uncomfortable.

Offensively the Eagles need to go back to old reliable. Score more points than the other team. Control the time of possession and use your ridiculously good offensive line to run the ball. In their first meeting this year D'Andre Swift ran for 130 yards against this defense. The line opened up enormous holes for him to run. A.J. Brown began his run of 6 straight games with 125+ yards during the first Bucs matchup. This team needs to remember the good times! If these Eagles can do any, and more preferably all of this, they'll move on to the divisional round. Waiting for them there will be a much more difficult matchup creating a whole different set of problems.

Football fans are gearing up for the upcoming NFL season. Some fans are so passionate that their enthusiasm borders on religious fervor. And yes, they pray for their team.  Beyond their prayers, they also have some superstitions. You know the types: they go barechested in zero degree weather and paint themselves in their favorite team's colors. Their mood for the week depends on if their team won or lost. There are fans and then there devout believers.  Those are the ones who get a bit too superstitious.

You know that person who stays in the same spot throughout an entire game, and when their team gives up possession they change positions? That's who we're talking about. So, when things are going well, they're practically immobile. They won't step away for food or even use the bathroom. Why? Because they can’t risk "messing up the flow." On the other hand, if things are not going as planned, they might wander around the living room persistently in search of a lucky seat where good things could potentially happen. Of course, for some fans, their ritualistic and superstitious behaviors might just be traditions, regardless of whether their team comes out on top or experiences a loss.

From wearing a specific jersey to eating a particular snack, these rituals are believed to bring luck and influence the game. For instance, some fans might have a lucky pre-game routine, like wearing mismatched socks or doing a little victory dance before kickoff. Even food choices play a role, with some fans only eating certain foods while watching the game, like nachos or chicken wings, believing that deviating from this menu might lead to bad luck. It's these quirky and often amusing superstitions that add an extra layer of excitement to the football fan experience.

Take a look at a few of these superstition-filled traditions that football fans have been sharing on Reddit.

For some fans, the belief in "jersey power" is real, relying on their chosen jersey to bring their team to victory. A Reddit user revealed, "I change jerseys every game. Never wear the same one twice in a row." They mentioned that during one season, the Jaguars secured a 3-1 record when following this practice, but experienced a 0-12 record when they didn't.

Some fans unquestionably take their rituals to the extreme. During Vince Young's playing days, a Redditor mentioned that they used to perform a rather unconventional practice of burning a photo of the player. They would attach a picture of his face to a Barbie doll and place it on the grill as part of their ritual.

This particular approach might come across as a bit harsh, yet it seems to show results for this person. Apparently, ignoring their wife and kid during the game is their strategy. "I know it's weird and the results haven't been great, but I'm not going to risk it," they wrote. Priorities, dude!

Some say that dissecting your superstitions like a science can work wonders. A Reddit user shared their approach, saying that if, for some reason, they tune into the game late and the Ravens are in the lead, they turn the game off. "Watching will only swing the game in the opposite direction. It's like the Heisenberg Principle of quantum football mechanics. Intense observation will only change the outcome," they humorously explained. That's dedication!

Having a lucky seat or a designated sweet spot to park yourself during every football game is a ritual many fans swear by. According to one person, during game days, they make a point to occupy the exact same barstool. They mentioned, "Everyone has assigned seats at the bar."

Some hardcore football fans throw hygiene to the wind. A Reddit user opened up about their peculiar belief. If they don't shower right before the game, they're convinced the Eagles will end up on the losing side. They added, "Sometimes if we had a crappy first half, I'll take another shower, for a fresh start."

Luck can take some interesting forms, like the practice of counting things a specific number of times. A person mentioned that on game days, they apply three strokes of deodorant per armpit in support of Russell Wilson. Some people are all about the idea that stuff tends to go down in threes.