In a thrilling rematch of one of last year’s Wild Card Round matchups, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host a revamped Philadelphia Eagles team that will be looking for revenge after being eliminated by the Bucs just over nine months ago. That game ended in a comfortable 32-9 victory for the Tampa Bay squad, but this Philadelphia team is nothing like the one they faced back then; they have dramatically improved their roster and will be ready to get their vengeance this Sunday.
Let’s see what we can expect from the Buccaneers in this week’s tough matchup.
Eagles at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay’s Keys to the Game
Defend the Run
The Eagles roster is riddled with injuries. Wide receiver A.J. Brown has been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson did not play last week with a foot injury and may not be back in time for game time this Sunday, and wide receiver DeVonta Smith suffered a concussion in their Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints that will likely force him to sit out this week.
The logical strategy for the Eagles heading into the game will be to prioritize the running game, as they have one of the best running backs in the league in Saquon Barkley and an excellent mobile quarterback in Jalen Hurts. Tight end Dallas Goedert might be a threat on the air as he was last week against the Saints, but it’s difficult to imagine they will be airing it out a lot this week with their two best receivers out for the game. In their last meeting, Tampa Bay blitzed Hurts and effectively defended the run all game long, and this proved to be effective as they held the Eagle offense to just nine points in the game. Philadelphia has a lot of talent on the ground, and the Bucs should be looking to contain it as much as possible.
Win the Battle in the Trenches
The offensive line has been a lingering problem for the Tampa Bay offense for the past couple of seasons. The addition of Duke product Graham Barton certainly helped, but quarterback Baker Mayfield is still getting consistently pressured and sacked, forcing him to rush his decisions and make mistakes that come back to bite them later on. These issues were especially obvious in their Week 2 win against the Detroit Lions. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson had a monstrous game that included 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits.
The good news for the Bucs is that right tackle Luke Goedeke, who missed the last two games with a concussion, is slated to come back and play against the Eagles. This is huge for the offense, as Goedeke is a key component of the offensive line and his absence may have impacted the unit negatively. Still, the offensive line isn’t composed of just one player, and they’ll need to step it up to have any chance of winning against the Eagles.
Bounce Back
Last week, the Bucs suffered an embarrassing loss against the Denver Broncos after entering as six-point favorites. The secondary let an inspired Bo Nix complete 25 passes for 216 yards, as well as rush for 47 yards and a touchdown. The offense also had a quiet game, with Chris Godwin scoring the team’s lone touchdown and being the team’s leading receiver with six catches and 53 yards. Mike Evans and Rachaad White had surprisingly quiet games, recording just two catches for 17 yards and six rushing attempts for 17 yards respectively. Bucky Irving led the backfield but was only able to rack up 70 yards on nine carries.
In order to have success this Sunday, both units have to move on from last week and improve. The defense needs to tighten up and contain, and the offense needs to step up and deliver. Head coach Todd Bowles will have to find a way to get his star players more involved than last week and have some success on the field, and if he does, the Bucs could very well walk away from this matchup with a win.
