Mayfield May Lead Buccaneers To Victory

Eagles vs. Buccaneers, 8:15 ET

It was an interesting football weekend, one where I went 2-2 in a stretch that was supposed to have five games. That's not that big of a deal, my bet is still placed for the Bills, and now we focus on the other game on Monday Night. This one is between the Philadelphia Eagles, who look to return to the Super Bowl, and the Buccaneers, a bit of a surprise team this season.

The Eagles started the season looking like they were on a revenge tour. They won ten of their first 11 games this year and looked outstanding until Week 12. It wasn't a soft schedule either. They played the Vikings (when Cousins was there, the Dolphins, the Cowboys, the Chiefs, and the Bills. That's a tough schedule and to come out 10-1 was significant. After that, it was a complete disaster. They are now losers of five of their past six games. You do have to count the last week of the season, too. They had Jalen Hurts in the game. Once it became clear the Cowboys would win the division, and the Giants jumped out to a 24-point lead, they took out their starters. In any case, they lost to the Cardinals, Seahawks, Cowboys, and 49ers as well in that six-week stretch. Now they play without AJ Brown, their best receiver, tonight. Are we suppose to expect that they are going to just regain their form from early in the season because the playoffs have started? They are playing on the road, where they are just 5-4. They are playing a team they beat earlier in the season, and it can be very difficult to beat a team twice in once season. Their defense is struggling significantly, and the offense looks disjointed at best. Not much reason for optimism with Philadelphia in this one.

Jalen Hurts was clearly not happy after losing to the Seahawks. He questioned the team's commitment after three straight losses. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Buccaneers took a shot on Baker Mayfield this year and it has paid off. They ended up winning the NFC South, a division that no one seemed to want to win. It wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, however. To start the year, they went 3-1 and did a great job right out of the date. Their defense looked solid and their offense looked like they could find a variety of ways to beat you. After the bye week, they really struggled. They lost six of their next seven games and looked like they would drop out of the playoff race. Jumpstarted by a hard-fought win against the Panthers, they reeled off wins in five of their final six games and captured the NFC South. Before we give all the credit to Mayfield (though he deserves some) I also think we need to call out Mike Evans. Evans has 13 touchdowns on the season and the most receiving yards since 2018. The defense has its fair share of struggles and ended up only a few spots higher than the Eagles overall.

On offense, I like the way the Buccaneers have run the ball. Defensively, I do think they will do a nice job of putting together schemes against Jalen Hurts. He is very dangerous with his legs, and he obviously can throw the ball. However, I expect the Buccaneers to manage to contain him in the game. If they don't they will lose. Hurts doesn't have his best receiver and that means the Buccaneers can focus on the ground attack a bit more. I'll take the Buccaneers +2.5 at home and hope Mayfield can pull out at least one more win for them this season. If he can't maybe they can keep it close. I also lean toward over 43.5 in the game.

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