Featured Columnist IVJanuary 16, 2024
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Things went from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter of their playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday.
As Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports and Mike Jones of The Athletic noted, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay was carted off the field after suffering an apparent back injury. His teammates came out to the cart to support him as he was taken off the field.
“He got bent over real awkwardly trying to make a tackle, then grabbed at the right side of his back,” Vacchiano wrote. “He appeared to be in a lot of pain.”
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Darius Slay is carted off the field with an apparent injury. pic.twitter.com/XtPNteCgWV
As Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk noted, Monday was Slay’s first game since he underwent knee surgery on Dec. 16.
He finished with six tackles in the 32-9 loss.
The defeat was more of the same for an Eagles team that started the season 10-1 and then lost five of their final six games ahead of the playoffs. The defense struggled for much of that stretch, although it kept the visitors within striking distance for much of the contest against Tampa Bay until the Buccaneers pulled away with two late touchdowns to Trey Palmer and Chris Godwin.
A safety before the Palmer touchdown also extended the lead to two scores, and the Eagles never truly threatened after that play.
As for Slay, he is under contract with the Eagles through the 2025 campaign and figures to be back next season as they look to put their 2023 woes behind them.
The five-time Pro Bowler missed five games this season but still finished with 57 tackles, 14 passes defended and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
