How Do The Bucs Beat The Eagles In Week 4?

A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: How do the Bucs beat the Eagles?

Scott Reynolds: Don’t Lose The Game On Special Teams

Outside of a big punt return by Kam Johnson in Week 1 and a few solid kickoff returns by Sean Tucker, the Bucs special teams have been less than special this year. And that’s been a surprise coming out of training camp and the preseason where kicker Chase McLaughlin and new punter Riley Dixon were believed to be a team strength heading into the regular season.

Things took a turn for the worse in Week 2 in Houston on Monday Night Football when the Texans blocked a punt deep inside Tampa Bay territory. Dixon, who is 32, has a long, deliberate wind-up when it comes to punting the ball and the Texans broke through the Bucs’ line and blocked his kick. Adding insult to injury, rookie Jaylin Noel returned a punt 53 yards against Tampa Bay – despite the refs picking up the flag after an obvious block in the back penalty.

The adventure on special teams continued last week with the chance for Tampa Bay to increase its lead to nine points late in the fourth quarter with a fifth field goal attempt from Chase McLaughlin. But Will McDonald IV leaped over the line and blocked the field and returned it for a touchdown to give the Jets a 27-26 lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

It doesn’t help that the Bucs play the Eagles this week, as Philadelphia is coming off a come-from-behind win over the Rams thanks to a pair of blocked field goals from massive defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the second half. Davis blocked the potential game-winner for Los Angeles on the final play of the game and returned it for a touchdown. Tampa Bay will have to shore up its protection units for both punts and field goals. And perhaps replace Elijah Klein on the field goal protection unit and get someone bigger to help handle Davis in the middle of the line.

Matt Matera: Continue Winning The Turnover Battle 

It hasn’t always looked pretty for the Bucs through three games but some of the reason why they’re undefeated is because they’ve had a clean stat sheet protecting the ball. Baker Mayfield has yet to throw an interception this year (*knocks on wood*) and did a great job last game of not putting the ball in harm’s way. Tampa Bay’s offense has been able to move the ball down the field, but even at the time they don’t, they’re not giving the opponent short fields.

In the last game against the Eagles, the Bucs won the game but also won the turnover battle, 2-0. Winning the turnover margin will once again be important as Tampa Bay goes into this game pretty banged up on the offensive side of the ball. We’ll see what the offensive line looks like and who at the skill position is available, but the great equalizer is taking the ball away on defense. A fully healthy Bucs team can go shot for shot against the Eagles, but not a team that is this injured.

Tampa Bay’s defense has finally started to come out of its cage with two turnovers in the last game. That’s the other piece of the puzzle. The pick-six by Jamel Dean right before halftime ended up being the most important play of the game. It’ll be important for the Bucs to make Jalen Hurts uncomfortable to goad him into making mistakes. If they find a way to create multiple turnovers while not giving the ball away on their own side, the Bucs can beat Philadelphia again.

Bailey Adams: Keep Making Life Difficult For Jalen Hurts

Over the course of his career, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled against Todd Bowles and the Bucs. He is 1-4 against Tampa Bay, and the game-by-game stat lines and performances haven’t been all that pretty. There was a 12-of-26 night with just 20 rush yards back in 2021. Then came a 23-of-43 day with two interceptions in the playoffs later that season.

Even when the Eagles beat the Bucs in 2023, he threw two interceptions. He was sacked three times and managed only five rushing yards in the playoff matchup in January of 2024. And last September, he ended up with three total touchdowns, but by the time he and the Philly offense got going, they already trailed 24-0.

So, one way or another Bowles and his defense have managed to have Hurts’ number over the years. And with the injuries to the Bucs offensive line and the potential of missing Mike Evans in this matchup, the burden will fall to the Tampa Bay defense to handle Hurts and Philly’s offense while keeping this a low-scoring affair. Whether that’s spying Hurts, sending blitz after blitz, winning up front with four or disguising coverages and baiting him into risky throws, this may need to be a Bowles masterclass for the Bucs to win this game short-handed.

Staying out of third-and-short and fourth-and-short is another element to this, as Hurts and the Eagles offensive line are always dangerous with the tush push, even if the Bucs have had some success against it in the past. Yaya Diaby and Co. forcing Hurts into third-and-longs will keep him uncomfortable, and that could be the key to Tampa Bay getting out to a 4-0 start.

Adam Slivon: Bucs Defense Has To Pitch A Complete Game

There are only six teams that are still undefeated at 3-0, and this Sunday’s game between the Bucs and Eagles is a matchup between two of those teams. They have each gotten to that record in different ways, with Tampa Bay narrowly coming away the victor each time. How they were able to get by to begin the year is not likely to happen against the defending Super Bowl champions, though. Looking at the defense, all eyes will be on them playing a complete game for four quarters.

Against the Jets in Week 3, they came close and stymied their offense through three quarters, allowing just six points and coming away with two turnovers. When it came to applying pressure, head coach Todd Bowles schemed up a variety of blitzes to keep Tyrod Taylor out of rhythm and running for his life. The Bucs have had success doing that against Jalen Hurts in the past, but this game will be different. Hurts will have A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith at his disposal, and Saquon Barkley is always a threat to make a game-changing play.

What Tampa Bay cannot afford to do is let up, whatsoever. The pressure needs to be put on Hurts and Co. for the whole game while sticking with the gameplan and giving full effort. In the secondary, that means Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean need to keep up with Brown and Smith. After having success locking up one good wideout each week to begin the year, this will their first time facing two. The run defense must remain focused on locking up Barkley and Hurts, who form the best rushing QB-RB duo this side of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.

Doing this, and forcing a turnover or two, will be the deciding factor. Against elite teams, there is little margin for error. While you don’t see complete games by pitchers in baseball much anymore, the Bucs need to pitch a complete game defensively to have a chance to get to 4-0.

Josh Queipo: Win In The Trenches

It sounds like a tall task, and that’s because it is. But the Eagles are dominant due to the excellence of the line play. On offense they have a strong running game, not only due to Saquon Barkley’s brilliance, but also because they have an offensive line that can control things up front and give him the first 2-3 yards. That line also gives Jalen Hurts the time he needs to hit the deep shots that fuel a passing attack that struggles to stay consistent.

But with a chance that All-World right tackle Lane Johnson could miss the game, as he did when the Bucs faced the Eagles last year, and left guard Landon Dickerson battling through multiple injuries, there is a good chance that the Bucs improved defensive front can keep the playing field even. If that happens, Tampa Bay has shown they can clip the Eagles’ offensive wings to push the game into a low-scoring affair.

That leaves the Bucs’ banged up offensive line to face a still-incredible Eagles defensive line. Jalen Carter and an improved Jordan Davis are as formidable of an interior duo as the Bucs are likely to face all year. And behind them Moro Ojomo is ascending as many expected him to. Outside of the plethora of holding penalties, Elijah Klein and Luke Haggard met expectations in their one-on-one matchups against the Jets. It was when New York through changeups in extra rushers that the two young linemen struggled. There’s a chance All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs returns to action this week, and we might see veteran Dan Feeney at right guard.

On the edges, the Bucs will face a strong and deep pass rush highlighted by Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Josh Uche and the recently signed Za’Darius Smith. Whether it’s Graham Barton and Charlie Heck, or Wirfs and Heck, the Bucs will have to provide enough time for quarterback Baker Mayfield to find his playmakers downfield to get the offense to 21 points.