Eagles-Buccaneers observations: Brutal start dooms Birds in road loss
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' gameplan coming into Week 4 was simple and obvious. Offensively, they were going to have Baker Mayfield accurately dink and dunk with quick passes to a crew of star pass-catchers. Defensively, they were going to blitz Jalen Hurts, as head coach Todd Bowles has done to the Eagles' quarterback throughout his career.
Even after a gritty, surprise win in New Orleans last Sunday, there was little doubt that the Buccaneers would have success doing these things against the Eagles, but in the 33-16 Tampa Bay win, the way the Birds sleepwalked through the first half before finally showcasing some semblance of a pulse is damning of the coaching staff and the team's overall preparation methods.
The Eagles are missing perhaps their three best players in A.J. Brown, Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith. The absence of those offensive stars explains why the Eagles struggled to move the ball to a degree, though, certainly, the offense has its own faults and warts currently. All 11 defensive starters were healthy entering this game, however. Vic Fangio did a commendable job in Week 3 against a high-flying Saints offense, but this game went to hell swiftly. As Mayfield fed Chris Godwin and Mike Evans on the way to a 14-0 first quarter start, things felt entirely out of reach. It was demoralizing. By the time it was 24-0 at halftime, Eagles fans were keeping themselves busy projecting the Phillies' playoff roster rather than watching an inept pass rush and Jalen Hurts' increasingly worrisome pocket presence.
After each team's first two drives, the Buccaneers had totaled 159 yards while the Eagles had zero, yes, zero, net yards. At halftime, it was 287 to 69. That's the game.
There are the nitty, gritty aspects, sure.
• Avonte Maddox is not a competent slot cornerback at this point in his career and should be benched heading into the bye. The Eagles must, not , see what they have with Day 2 rookie Cooper DeJean at nickel going into Week 6.
• Hurts was sacked time and time again and had yet another costly red zone turnover when the Eagles had strung together an ounce of momentum and had a chance to do the unthinkable and make it a one-score game after such a rotten start. Hurts' propensity for coughing the ball up can no longer be viewed as a short-term hitch in his game. Over the last two years, it ultimately looks like this is who he is. He's a supremely talented signal-caller who can win games himself, as he just led a game-winning drive in the Big Easy last week. There are a couple moments each game though where he resembles 2020 Carson Wentz and everything falls apart.
• Put Jahan Dotson on the side of a milk carton.
• Saquon Barkley is as electric of a running back as the Eagles have had over the last few decades, but games like this illustrate how difficult it can be to win when your best healthy player is a running back. The Eagles were forced to get away from pounding the rock because of how deep of a hole they dug themselves into, feeling the need to throw themselves back into the game. Barkley still put up a monster 59-yard run during the team's somewhat spirited comeback attempt and finished with 116 yards from scrimmage on 9.7 yards per touch. He couldn't do it all at that point in the game with how things had transpired. Barkley absolutely needs to be the primary early game focal point of this offense even when Brown and Smith are back in tow.
• 36-year-old Brandon Graham in the midst of a retirement farewell tour is the team's best pass-rusher, as Bryce Huff continues to etch himself into the canon of the biggest Eagles free agent flops ever. His contract of $51 million compared to his output four games into his Eagles career is like the $120 million poured into Francis Ford Coppola's disastrous "Megalopolis" this weekend. If you can't see a better future among the defensive linemen, Howie Roseman needs to build one this offseason.
The calls for Nick Sirianni's job will only increase with two weeks between games. The Eagles will host the Browns in Week 6 back at Lincoln Financial Field. The Phillies will attempt to steal the imagination of this city until then with another Red October, but even with the feel-good vibes the Fightins may bring the Philly sports scene in the coming days, something tells me that the stink of this Eagles team will still hang over everything.
