EAGLES OUTPLAYED AND OUTCOACHED BY TAMPA BAY
- Kenny Pete, Contributor
105 Degrees at Raymond James Stadium at Kick off as the Philadelphia Eagles roll into Tampa without both starting wide receivers Devonte Smith & AJ Brown as well as starting all pro left tackle Lane Johnson out due to injury, to play the Bucs in Tampa Bay, which are a team that has given the Eagles absolute fits in recent history.
1st quarter of total offense Bucs 185, Eagles ZERO. Baker Mayfield came in hot with a TD pass to Mike Evans early in the 1st quarter , then did it again five minutes later with a TD pass to Trey Palmer & ended the first quarter up 14-0. Tampa kept it rolling early in the 2nd with another TD, this one a QB keeper for Mayfield’s 3rd touchdown on a five play drive. 21-0 Tampa Bay.
Wide receiver Kameron Johnson dropped a Touchdown at the back of the end zone , so the Bucs kicked a field goal at 7:21 to make the score 24-0 Bucs. About halfway through the 2nd quarter, the Eagles were able to put together their first respectable drive of the game with short passes to Paris Campbell & Dallas Goedert, a solid dose of Saquon Barkley out of the backfield & a crucial 1st down picked up by Jalen Hurts scrambling out of bounds to keep the drive alive.
Jalen Hurts connected with Goedert for 18 yards to get the Eagles in the redzone for the first time on the day. Two runs by Saquon Barkley, one for 5 yards and one for a loss, set up a crucial 3rd & goal for the Eagles with 2:37 to go in the half. Saquon up the middle gets stopped bringing up 4th & goal at the two min warning. Hurts fakes the hand off to Barkley, rolls right & connects with Paris Campbell in the back of the end zone for the touchdown to get the Eagles on the board, 24 - 7
The Eagles began the second half with a huge Saquon Barkley run for 59 yards off a brilliant Cam Jurgens tackle to break the running back free. Soon afterward, it was time to get Brotherly in the red zone for 6 and Jalen was able to convert. Extra point by Jake Elliot is good to make it 24 - 14 Tampa Bay.
The Eagles defense showed promise on the following drive, but Baker Mayfield & the Tampa Bay offense were able to pick up big chunks of yardage at a time to get down the field & cap the drive off with a rushing touchdown compliments of Bucky Irving that was initially called down at the one, so they ran it to the outside on second time & left no doubt. Touchdown Bucks 30 - 14. McLaughlin lines up for the extra point…. BLOCKED scooped up by Keeley Ringo who ran it back for a Defensive two point conversion for the Eagles to make it 24-16 halfway through the 3rd quarter.
The next Eagles drive was highlit by a short pass to Saquon Barkley who made the catch & dropped his shoulder into Jamel Dean & refused to lose as he ran through him in a highlight that will live forever in Barkley’s lore as an Eagle. Unfortunately, this drive was halted by (another) Hurts turnover as he was sacked by Lavonte David & the Bucs recovered the ball halting the Eagles momentum. Baker Mayfield connected with Sterling Shepard on a beautiful rainbow that Shepard went up & over double coverage to make a picturesque grab for a gain of 30 yards.
To start the 4th quarter, Mafield connected with Rachaad White on a grab that was snatched from about 2 inches off the ground for a 12 yard gain into Eagles territory. After a critical drop on 3rd down, Tampa Bay elected to send McLaughlin out to kick a 52 yard field goal to make it 33 - 16 with thirteen minutes left to go in the contest.
Jalen begins the next drive with short passes to Saquon, John Ross & Grant Calcaterra before overthrowing a bomb to Ross at the back corner of the end zone. Hurts goes on to get sacked, get a 5 yard play called back on a Eagles offensive line holding penalty (Tyler Steen) & gets sacked again, fumbles AGAIN, but this time the ball was recovered by the Eagles who then kicked it away.
I'm not going to sit here & make excuses for an injured Eagles football team. The list of Bucs on the injury report for this game was twice as long as the Eagles list was. Both teams played in the same 107 degree field temperature. Baker Mayfield had a great day , commanding an offense up & down the field with great throw after great throw. Jalen had a less than great day being without starting tackle Lane Johnson & his two favorite weapons at wide receiver. It's also tough to be proficient at QB when you get sacked 6 times. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for this Eagles team who need to get healthy, circle the wagons & get it together before this season gets away from them as we move into October.