Eagles most to blame for Week 4 loss to Buccaneers

Coming out of Week 3, it looked like the Philadelphia Eagles were on the right track.

Down two of their top four receivers, with a third going with a concussion mid-game, Saquon Barkley continued to dominate, Dallas Goedert was unlocked as a legitimate force from the tight end position, and Vic Fangio 's defense looked much-improved, seemingly figuring out the best way to get the most out of young, talented players like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Quinyon Mitchell .

Coming out of Week 4? Eagles fans are firmly back in their feelings, as the team looked downright bad pretty much across the board, their defensive struggles were only overshadowed by their offensive issues, and it very much remains to be seen how Philadelphia will right their wrongs, as some of them are deeply seated, as highlighted by a brutal 33-16 loss.

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In Week 3, it looked like the Eagles' defense put it all together.

Sure, they didn't put up double-digit sacks and lost the turnover battle for what felt like the 60th week in a row, but hey, they consistently put pressure on Derek Carr, found success with a five-man front, and even looked good in coverage, even if they still gave up the predictable plays a Fangio defense usually surrenders.

And after that incredible success, the Eagles built on it by... dropping an absolute egg in Week 4, proving to fans that last season's playoff loss to Baker Mayfield and company was no aberration.

But where to begin? Was it the fact that Mayfield was able to drop back 47 times and complete 30 percent of his passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns while only being sacked twice? Or maybe the fact that the Eagles missed what felt like a million tackles, with everyone from Nakobe Dean to Nolan Smith simply unable to mitigate their mistakes with a clean takedown? Maybe the fact that the secondary simply didn't have it, with Avonte Maddox and CJ Gardner-Johnson getting burnt on particularly ugly plays?

All in all, this was a truly bad effort from an Eagles team that was always going to struggle to pick up yards down DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown, and frankly, they have no one to blame for it but themselves. Why Cooper DeJean can't see the field on this defense will one day be studied.

Gosh, it sure is getting hard to be a Jalen Hurts fan, as sometimes, he just turns in a dud that has fans scratching their head with confusion.

Numerically speaking, Hurts was borderline invisible for much of the game, completing just 18 of his 30 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown , but when he did show up on the proverbial highlight reel, it was for the bad, as his long one during the afternoon was only 27 yards, he was sacked six times, and he ultimately fumbled the ball twice, including one by Lavonte David that made the rounds on social media for all the wrong reasons.

Once again, Hurts didn't make decisive decisions, lost his poise in the pocket, and showed a lack of discipline under pressure , which he was for much of the game, considering Fred Johnson was given the unenviable task of replacing future Hall of Famer Lane Johnson on the right side.

Yes, Hurts was dealt a bad hand down three of his top four offensive players, yes he quite possibly had the worst receiving corps of his career versus the Bucs, with the trade for Jahan Dotson looking almost as bad as Golden Tate back in the day, and yes Tampa Bay looked like they designed a perfect offense tailor-made to give QB1 problems but goodness gracious, Kellen Moore's offense showed no fight in Week 4, and much of their issue falls on his shoulders.

If Hurts doesn't return from the bye with a newfound poise and a few Pro Bowl-caliber wide receivers on the outside, even an easier schedule might not ease what ails the Eagles.

And last but certainly not least – maybe even most – the Eagles' biggest issue in Week 4 once again firmly fell on the shoulders of Nick Sirianni, who simply didn't put his team in the best position to succeed against the Buccaneers.

But why? Yes, Sirianni is the "CEO" of the Eagles, with Moore and Fangio calling the plays and (largely) the shots for their respective units, but doesn't the head coach still own the burden of his team actually being prepared for their opponent? Identifying, for example, that the Buccaneers aren't a particularly good rushing defense, so only giving Barkley a few carries in the first quarter was probably a bad call? Or that Mayfield isn't nearly as effective when he's under pressure, so throwing exotic looks his way could help to neutralize the short passing game that allowed him to eat all afternoon on the way to a 63.8 completion percentage?

After the game, Sirianni asked what the heck happened and how his team was able to turn in such an ugly, undisciplined effort, and as has become the trend, he put the blame on his shoulders first of all , as he is the head coach, after all.

"At the end of the day, it's a team game, and it's on all of us. To be minus six [in the turnover battle], we all own that, all of us are responsible, starting with me as the head football coach," Sirianni told reporters via Bleeding Green Nation. "And that's that, because minus six is on offense and defense, and so if we're not taking the ball away enough, well enough, and we're not protecting it well enough, then look no further than me."

On paper, taking responsibility for the Eagles' loss is admirable for any head coach, as pointing fingers at his QB, his coordinators, or his other players is a pretty good way to lose the locker room. Still, if he continues to be the problem by his own admission, how long will Jeffrey Lurie let this go? Do the Eagles need another lost season for Lurie to pull the plug? Or will Sirianni take on his role of game planner more seriously and actually have the Eagles prepared for their next foe, the 1-3 Cleveland Browns, in a pivotal Week 5 showdown? That outcome could go a long way in defining the rest of the 2024 NFL season.