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How the Buccaneers Can Beat the Eagles on Monday Night Football

The Buccaneers and Eagles will both be looking to stay undefeated in a Monday Night Football showdown.

Ben Meyerson

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The Buccaneers and Eagles have only played 5 times since the 2013 season with the Bucs going 4-1 against the Eagles in those games. This matchup will mark the third season in a row that these two teams play against each other.

Philadelphia has started undefeated coming off their impressive NFC Championship run. They are continuing to show how talented that roster is but there are some underlying weaknesses on their defense that the Buccaneers will have a chance to exploit.

On offense, they are still a juggernaut and are very well-rounded with high-end upside in both the passing game and the running game. Under Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers' defense has shown some tendencies that will be able to counter the Eagles' strengths.

READ MORE: Former Buccaneers’ Head Coach Bruce Arians Reveals Thoughts on Baker Mayfield

Stuffing the Eagles Elite Run Game

No team in the NFL has more 1st downs from run attempts than the Philadelphia Eagles. Their offense goes through the running game and that will be Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers defense's focus for Monday Night.

It starts with Jalen Hurts who led all Quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns last season (13) and him being such a threat in the running game opens up the rest of the offense. If you can slow down the QB run game you can disrupt the Eagles offense.

The Eagles also have a stable of running backs that benefit greatly from the QB rushing threat.

Just last week against the Vikings they ran for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns with D'Andre Swift rushing for 175 yards. In total, they finished the game with 48 rushing attempts vs. 23 passing attempts.

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The Buccaneers rushing defense has been amongst the best in the league through two weeks. If you look at the underlying metrics they are a top defense overall but their strength is in stopping the running game. 

As a team, they rank 7th in defensive EPA ('expected points added' measures offensive efficiency) but they rank 5th in defensive run EPA. 

They are allowing 3.3 yards per carry (6th best in the NFL), and the Eagles' offense is averaging 4.9 yards per carry (5th best in the NFL). This will be a great test for both teams to see how they stack up against the best competition.

The Eagles are a great offense and offer a lot of problems because they are so well-rounded in both the pass and the run game. But in order to win, the Bucs need to slow down the run game even if it's just slightly below the Eagles' average run efficiency.

This is going to be a huge matchup. Since Todd Bowles became the Buccaneers defensive coordinator in 2019 they rank 1st in defensive rush EPA. Since Hurts became the Eagles full-time starter in 2021 the Eagles rank 1st in rushing EPA.

Winning on 3rd Down

On the offensive side of the ball, Baker Mayfield has stepped into the starting role in Tampa and gotten off to a hot start with two wins. His underlying numbers show that he has been extremely efficient, with third-down being his bread and butter through 2 games.

Baker's 132.1 QB rating on 3rd down ranks 2nd in the NFL and his 87% completion rate ranks first (min. 10 attempts) among quarterbacks. 

Third down is the most important down in football and in order for the Bucs to win against an elite team like the Eagles, Baker will need to bring his A game. 

Last year Philadelphia's defense was elite, leading the league in sacks and wreaking havoc all season.

They were especially efficient on third down in 2022, ranking 4th in the NFL in defensive EPA/play on third down attempts. But this off-season they lost some of the pieces that were crucial in their Super Bowl run.

Javon Hargrave, CJ Gardner Johnson, TJ Edwards, and Kyzir White were four of the starters on that defensive unit last year who all left the Eagles via free agency. They also lost their defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon who became the Head Coach of the Cardinals, so this off-season was a shift in a new direction for them.

The Eagles have made some savvy draft moves to inject some young talent in the meantime. Over the last few drafts, they have selected Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, Jordan Davis, and Kelee Ringo to bring some youth to their defense.

But this season they have not been able to maintain the same efficiency in all areas of the defense, understandably.

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I want to note that it is only a two-game sample size for the Eagles, but they have also played the Patriots and Vikings two teams that are not bad on offense but will surely not be among the elite offenses this season. 

They dropped from ranking 4th in defensive EPA/play on third down last season to ranking 17th this season. With them showing to be only average defensively this is an area that Baker and Bucs need to make the most of.

It will be crucial to keep drives going against Philadelphia so they can keep the Eagles' offense off the field and disrupt their offensive rhythm. 

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout Training Camp.

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Ben Meyerson
BEN MEYERSON

Writer for BucsGameday.com