It’s a good thing that the Philadelphia Eagles are going into their bye week. They seriously need to regroup.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin (4) kicks an extra point during an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray)
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
The Philadelphia Eagles’ every weakness this season was displayed in horrible fashion in their 33-16 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On defense, the Birds couldn’t stop the Bucs, who scored on their first four possessions of the game to put the Eagles into a 24-0 hole from which they would not recover. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield looked like the second coming of your favorite Hall-of-Fame signal-caller, completing 30-of-47 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
“The game plan was to go out there and make sure we get stops,” said Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham. “We just didn’t get it …
We weren’t tackling as good. There were some tackles we left out there on the field. There some third downs that we didn’t get off the field, especially in key moments to shift the momentum.”
The Buccaneers rolled up 445 yards against an Eagles defense that simply couldn’t tackle anybody. Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady pointed out on their FOX broadcast that the Eagles missed 11 tackles midway through the third quarter.
With next week’s bye week coming up, the Eagles have a lot soul searching and a lot of work on both sides of the ball before their Oct. 13 home game against the Cleveland Browns.
“We obviously didn’t start well, down 24-0 to start things off. No excuse for that,” said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. “Our fundamentals weren’t what they needed to be. The bye-week is coming at a good time. …We gotta make some changes with what’s going fundamentally. Early on in the game, I thought we had some missed tackles and some drops. Those are going to stop drives and extend drives. It’s going to start with fundamentals and then it’s going to be looking at the position we’re putting guys in.”
As bad as the defense performed, the offense, which was minus wide receivers Devonta Smith, and A.J. Brown, as well as right tackle Lane Johnson, struggled for most of the first half. Midway through the second quarter, the Eagles had zero yards of total offense and no first downs.
The Eagles had just 69 yards of offense in the first half. The Eagles scored their only points of the first half on a one-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to backup wide receiver Parris Campbell to finish a 10-play, 70-yard drive.
On their first drive of the second half, the Eagles cut the deficit to 24-14 on a one-yard “tush-push” run by Hurts to cap a five-play, 70-yard drive. But Tampa responded with a 12-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by running back Bucky Irving.
Tampa’s extra-point try was blocked by Isaiah Rogers and the ball scooped up by reserve cornerback Kelee Ringo who took it to the end zone for two points to make the score 30-16.
On their next drive, Hurts and the Birds drove to the Tampa Bay 19-yard line. But on first and 10, Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David stripped Hurts of the ball as he was about to throw it down field. Tampa Bay recovered and snuffed out the last threat for the Eagles to make a comeback.
Hurts’ fumble on the strip sack spurred the questions about his pocket awareness and his penchant for turning over the football. It was Hurts’ ninth straight game where he has committed a turnover.
“Strip sack fumbles like that. Jalen’s getting ready to throw. When you look at those, the guy is coming from behind and gets the ball out, that’s not Jalen, but (Hurts) credited (with the turnover).” Siranni said.
When Hurts was asked if he was aware of David’s presence in the pocket, he said he was focused on getting the ball downfield to Grant Calcaterra.
“I think it was a matter of being decisive and knowing what you’re about to do. I think if we get that ball off we have an opportunity in the middle of the field to Grant Calaterra. We didn’t have enough time in that situation,” Hurts said.
During his postgame press conference, Hurts gave no excuses and put the loss on his shoulders. But without Brown and Smith, Hurts struggled to find receivers. He was sacked six times. He was 18-30 for 158 yards with one touchdown and one fumble.
“I think overall, I have to play better… I have to help the defense out by executing, communicating, the things I see on the field, and trade the momentum for what we need to get into the end zone. It starts with me getting in the end zone and leading drives. I didn’t do a good job,” Hurts said.
The bye week probably could not have come at a better time for the Birds, given the team’s injuries and inconsistent play. On offense, the Eagles will get Brown and Smith back, but the question is, Can Hurts do a better job of avoiding turnovers and can Vic Fangio fix a defense that can’t seem to stop anybody?
Impatient fans will be waiting for answers.
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