January 13, 2022
When the Philadelphia Eagles take on the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday afternoon's NFC wild card playoff game, the national radio broadcast on Westwood One will be led by the duo of Tom McCarthy and Ron Jaworski.
McCarthy has been the full-time TV play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies since 2009, after the death of broadcasting legend Harry Kalas, but has increasingly taken on some NFL duties over the last year. Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback and longtime NFL analyst, previously worked on the "Monday Night Football" broadcast team for several years at ESPN before joining Westwood One in recent seasons.
McCarthy joined Tony Romo on CBS for last weekend's TV broadcast of the Buccaneers-Panthers game. After signing on for the wild card game, he tweeted that he's excited to be back in Tampa for the Eagles game.
Looking forward to back in Tampa!!! https://t.co/jp8Kg4ZbIm
— Tom McCarthy (@TMacPhils) January 10, 2022
Most fans in Philadelphia will likely either watch Sunday's 1 p.m. game on FOX or tune in to SportsRadio 94WIP for the radio broadcast from Meryl Reese and Mike Quick. Those who aren't in the area and not around a TV will be hearing the game called through the eyes of McCarthy and Jaws, who will have to put their Eagles favoritism aside for a national audience.
McCarthy was interviewed about Sunday's game by NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark, offering his assessment of Sunday's matchup. The Buccaneers are currently 8.5-point favorites in a game that is expected to be played in windy, inclement weather. In addition to an emphasis on the Eagles' short passing game, McCarthy highlighted the fact that Jalen Hurts may be able to take advantage of a defense that has been exposed by some running quarterbacks.
"Look at some of the quarterback numbers," McCarthy said. "Josh Allen had over 100 yards against (Tampa Bay). Jalen Hurts is, conceivably, if you think about it, better than Josh is as a runner, as a running quarterback ... I do think you can exploit them, and I think that's a key, too — to keep Tom Brady off the field."
Sunday's game will mark the biggest age and experience disparity among starting quarterbacks in NFL playoff history. This will be Brady's 46th playoff game, compared to Hurts' first. Brady is 44 years old and Hurts is 23.
Ironically, Jaworski was the Eagles' starting quarterback the last time that Philadelphia played a playoff game against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay in 1979. The Eagles lost to the Bucs that year 24-17, according to Pro Football Reference.
McCarthy isn't a stranger to calling games in the Tampa area. The Phillies play-by-play man typically spends February and March calling spring training games in Clearwater, which is a short drive away from Tampa Bay. He'll be back in the area later this winter when baseball season gets going — so long as the MLB lockout ends in the coming months.
The Eagles-Bucs television broadcast will feature FOX's No. 1 team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth, with Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi on the sidelines.
Fans who want to tune in to the Westwood One radio broadcast can identify the station in their area ahead of Sunday's game.
