Eagles And Bucs Will Expose Defenses

Eagles vs. Buccaneers, 7:15 ET

Raise your hand if you had both of these teams being 2-0 when they came into this game. I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't, but I suppose I wouldn't describe myself as surprised if a lot of you said you did think they both would win their first two games. Nonetheless, we are ending Week 3 with a Monday Night Football game between the Eagles and Buccaneers.

The Eagles lost the Super Bowl on a controversial call. It happened, they need to move on and be done with it. Right now, Philadelphia looks like they've rebounded. They struggled in the season opener against New England, but then again give Bill Belichick months to prepare and you have to imagine that the opposing offense will not look like they are in great rhythm. Then the next game, they also probably would've lost if the Vikings could get out of their own way, but they didn't and they were able to put up 34 points on Minnesota. Last season we knew the offensive line was going to be one of the best in football, and they still are very good. However, the defense was really solid last year, but they are a bit banged up and already allowing receivers to feast. Tampa has two good receivers, even if there are questions about their quarterback. In two games, they've allowed 340 passing yards to opponents on average. In order to win this game, the key for them will be the up front battle. If they can get that initial push and force Tampa's linebackers to come up to help with the running game, they can open up some lanes for the receivers.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 12: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Hat tip to Baker Mayfield who has done more than enough to position the Buccaneers to be in the spot they are right now. I didn't think he was capable of playing that well, but he is doing a solid job through two games. It helps that his defense has forced turnovers and given the Buccaneers good field position to operate from. The play-calling has been pretty good as well. I am expecting the Buccaneers to test the secondary of Philadelphia early and often as they try to get the ball into Chris Godwin and Mike Evans's hands. I do have a bit of concern that the defensive line will be able to get pressure on Jalen Hurts. If they can't stop him, this game will be over pretty quickly. I doubt the Buccaneers are going to be all that good if they are playing from behind. I also don't think that the Eagles make that many mistakes so the defense might not be able to help quite as much as they did in the first two games.

I'm envisioning a pretty high-scoring game here. On the surface, the Eagles should be able to win and cover, but the better play is to take the over. The Buccaneers can do some good work through the air and I think the Eagles should be able to get a lot on the ground. To be honest, I don't think I'd be all that shocked if Tampa steals this game because I do think Philly has some defensive issues right now, but that's why I keep going back to the over as the smarter option in this game. Take over 46 in this game.

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