One important lesson Buccaneers learned that the Eagles didn’t

18 years… That’s the amount of time that elapsed between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ first Super Bowl win and their second. The Philadelphia Eagles share a similar story. After they came up short versus the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV, it took them 24 years to get back, but unlike the Bucs, they hoped to avenge a loss.

Three straight losses in the NFC Championship Game contributed to Philly’s drought between Super Bowl appearances. They’d again fall short in the NFL’s biggest game on February 6th of 2005 in Super Bowl XXXIX, but 13 years later, their third attempt at football immortality proved fruitful. You could say the third time was the charm.

In Super Bowl LII, the Birds conquered what might be the greatest dynasty in all of sports, the evil empire known as the New England Patriots. They haven’t won more than ten games in any of the four seasons that have followed, but here’s what’s even more interesting. They’ve made the playoffs three times in that four-year span.

On Sunday, Philadelphia looks to win their first playoff game since beating the Chicago Bears in the Wild Card Round of the 2018 season’s postseason on January 6th of 2019, and look who they’re matched up with, Tom Brady and the Bucs.

It’s that same Bucs franchise that beat them in the final game at Veteran’s Stadium to advance to Super Bowl XXXVIII (and win it). It’s the same Brady they beat almost four years ago in Minnesota.

The Buccaneers seem to be privy to a theory the Eagles haven’t yet learned.

The above story serves as a lesson that everyone can learn from, regardless of whether we’re talking about football or your own occupations. Nothing is guaranteed. You have to seize moments when they come. That seems to be something the Bucs have learned and the Eagles haven’t. Let’s dig into that theory for a second.

Do you remember that Bucs team that beat the Birds to reach their first Super Bowl? They had lost to Philadelphia in 2000 during the Wild Card Round by a 21-3 margin. A year later, during the next Wild Card Round, the beating Philly administered was worse (31-9). It was, at that moment, that Tampa decided that they had enough.

They fired the best coach that they ever had (Tony Dungy), and they hired Jon Gruden. The next time they saw Philly in the playoffs, it was the next NFC Championship Game. The Bucs got their revenge. The Eagles final game at Veteran’s Stadium resulted in a loss, and Tampa punched their ticket to a Super Bowl many thought Philly would be playing in.

Many moons later, the Buccaneers again faced a decision, one involving their first-round draft choice in 2015, the first-overall selection in that year’s draft, Jameis Winston. The Bucs again decided that being competitive was more important to them than being comfortable.

Tampa elected to allow Winston to walk in free agency while adding Tom Brady. The goal was a simple one… Win a Super Bowl (which they did). Meanwhile, the Eagles have accepted mediocrity to some extent.

Yes, they’re in the playoffs. Yes, Howie Roseman will keep his job for another season, but that ‘new norm’ that we were promised never came, or maybe it has.

Unfortunately, the ‘new norm’ however isn’t about playing games late into January with the chance of making another appearance in another Super Bowl. The new normalcy with the Eagles team is scraping by with a favorable schedule down the stretch and hoping for nine wins while barely making another postseason.

That’s the definition of mediocrity, something the Eagles have become far too comfortable with accepting. Come on… Are we really going to place our hopes in trying to turn it on down the stretch versus some bad teams every season? Is that not what the Eagles are doing?

The Bucs found the courage to say ‘we want more and getting to the Wild Card Game isn’t enough’. The Bucs had the courage to sacrifice some of the future for a quarterback who may not have much longer to play.

Until the Eagles start thinking along the lines of ‘Howie Roseman isn’t doing a good enough job’, ‘nine wins isn’t going to cut it’, and ‘should we take a Russell Wilson or an Aaron Rodgers if we have a shot at getting him?’ mediocrity will continue in Philadelphia with the Eagles.

That isn’t to say that Jalen Hurts can’t be a franchise quarterback. That’s merely to state that we don’t have to wait until 15 years from now to decide that we want to win another Super Bowl.