The Eagles have finally gotten back in the win column with an admittedly ugly-looking win against the Panthers, but a W is a W. Now sitting at 2-3, the Eagles travel back home to take on Tom Brady and the super-bowl hopeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, where they look to pull off a major upset and continue to grow as a team. Here, we’ll go position by position to compare these two squads to predict who comes out of this game with a win.
Quarterback
Week 5 was a tale of two halves for both the offense and Jalen Hurts. In half one, Jalen couldn’t seem to move the ball against an admittedly strong Panthers defense, but the atrocious playcalling set him up to fail somewhat. In the second half, and notably 4th quarter, Jalen and the offense finally found life on the back of a few big throws as well as rushing touchdowns by Hurts himself, leading an improbable comeback against Carolina. Hurts looked exponentially better when allowed to run a balanced offense with normal dropbacks instead of force-feeding screens all game, but that’s not to say Hurts went without fault. He had a few bad misses, including an overthrown interception targeted at Dallas Goedert, as well as some problems with scanning the field to find open receivers. The hope is Hurts can unlock the potential he’s flashed when the play calling is good, but there’s quite a bit you’d like to see cleaned up from Jalen himself that will allow the Eagles offense to function more consistently.
If anyone on the Earth currently possesses the time stone, it’s Tom Brady. Tom has put himself in the MVP conversation once again at 44 YEARS OLD, and it wouldn’t be crazy to say this is some of the best football the GOAT has played in his entire career. Accuracy, poise, pocket presence, you name it, Brady has it and will use it to dissect your defense with unparalleled efficiency. There’s not much more to say about Brady that NFL fans don’t already know, so let’s just give him this point.
Running Back
RUN. THE. BALL. As we say every week, Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell perform very well when given touches, especially the latter at this moment in time. Even though Miles Sanders seems to have no sense of when to stay in bounds, that shouldn’t lead to him getting no touches on first and second downs where he flourishes. Even if the coaches have a personal grudge against Boobie, Gainwell has proven to be an absolute stud both rushing and receiving the ball. Take some pressure off of Hurts, who’s currently accounting for 84 percent of this team’s yardage, please? Strong position group, low usage, you get the gist.
Currently, the rotation of the Bucs RBs seems to be led by Leonard Fournette, who has solidified himself as a more than capable every-down back. Ronald Jones hasn’t seen much of the field lately, partially due to him being a non-factor as a receiver, but the Bucs have Giovanni Bernard as a specialist for that role. It’s one of the weaker units in the NFL, but still effective for the Tampa Bay offense. I’ll give this matchup a tie.
Offensive Line
The Eagles Offensive line depth is the greatest strength of this team. Even with three Week 1 starters out, this offensive line is an obvious strength, which is truly insane to think about. On the Left Side is Andre Dillard, who’s essentially saved his career over these past two games in which he’s demonstrated why he was a first-round pick in 2018. Rookie Landon Dickerson has improved almost every game he’s played so far, and is looking like a better pick every week. Center Jason Kelce is the rock of this line, and he’s playing some of the best football of his life. At guard currently is Jack Driscoll, who’s shown he can be a consistent-to-even-great starter at multiple positions on the line, and at RT is Jordan Mailata, who’s had a crazy good start to the year after getting his massive contract extension. This line is absolutely a strength, and even starting depth is one of the best in the league.
The Buccaneers offensive line, like most of the units on this team, is a very good one. Donovan Smith is and has been a franchise left tackle, a major strength protecting Brady’s blind side. The interior of Alex Cappa, Ali Marpet, and Ryan Jensen is one that’s more than solid; Marpet is one of the better guards in the league while the other two are simply average this season. At RT, Tristan Wirfs is building off of his rookie campaign in which he immediately came in and was the best right tackle in the entire NFL. While he hasn’t been that this season, a slight regression was inevitable, and he’s still an elite tackle in this league. This line has no true weak links, aside from some possibility for penetration on the interior. Due to the strength of both of these units, this point is another tie.
Wide Receivers
The Eagles wideout core is a hyper-talented one, and that starts with rookie Devonta Smith. Smith seems to be constantly open, and while he had a fumble last week, he’s shown himself to be one of the best pure separators in the league week in and week out. For the first time this season, Quez Watkins has out-snapped Jalen Reagor, and that’s for good reason. Quez has shown himself to be one of the best deep threats in the NFL, breaking away for huge gains almost every week, and making plays on almost every ball thrown his way. Reagor is a bit of an enigma because we all know the physical talent is there, but the production simply isn’t. I’m not ready to give up on Reagor just yet, but there is some room for concern.
This Buccaneers receiving core is simply not fair. Mike Evans has been a 1000 yard season machine since entering the NFL, posting massive numbers for 7 straight seasons. He’s a wide receiver one on most teams, but it’s very possible he’s the THIRD best wideout on this Buccaneers squad. Chris Godwin has made a case for being one of the best slot receivers in the league, with elite route-running ability, sure hands, and even some contested-catch skills. Godwin and Evans are one of the best wideout duos in the league, and having those two on the same field seems like cheating. Point goes to…
…wait. Neither of these guys is even leading the buccaneers in target share. Who in the NFL could possibly be the wide receiver one over these two studs on the Bucs?
That title goes to former all-pro receiver Antonio Brown. Brown has had a career revival since teaming up with Brady in Tampa Bay, regaining his position as one of the most explosive weapons in the NFL. The trio of these three is video game-esque, and that’s not even mentioning depth like Tyler Johnson and Jaelon Darden. This point goes to the Bucs. Obviously.
Tight Ends
Dallas Goedert’s status is up in the air for Thursday after a positive COVID test, but it’s obvious he’s one of the most underutilized weapons in the NFL. The starting TE without Goedert would be Zach Ertz, who’s always a good weapon to have on the field and a sure pair of hands.
Rob Gronkowski, like every former superstar who’s gone to the Bucs, has had a career revitalization. He’s been one of the most productive TE’s in the NFL when healthy and taken over the first spot on the depth chart. Adding to the insanity of this Bucs offense is OJ Howard, a former first-round pick and freak athlete who’s currently waiting his turn behind Gronk for snaps, which would not be the case on most squads. Without Goedert, this point goes to the Buccaneers.
Editor’s Note: Rob Gronkowski is questionable to play on Thursday due to cracked ribs, and the Buccaneers may err on the side of caution and opt to give the veteran tight end an extra 10 days to rest rather than play him against the Eagles.
Defensive Line
The Eagles defensive line, like the rest of the defense, had an absolute day against the Panthers front 5. Javon Hargrave continued his all-pro season with 6 pressures and a sack, leading the league in sacks from the DT position. He’s simply on another level right now. Fletcher Cox quieted questions with an outing in which he also logged 6 pressures, capitalizing on the attention shifting to Hargrave. The Edge group also had a great day, with Josh Sweat logging a sack himself, and Derek Barnett showing he can be a consistent pressure generating player from the edge without logging boneheaded penalties. This defensive line is in the upper echelon of the NFL, and the strongest point on this eagles defense.
We know the drill. This Buccaneers defensive line is one of the best units in the NFL, and it’s possible they have 0 weak links. On the Edge, the duo of Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barret provide an aging but still incredibly productive pass rush. Both of these two still have the capacity to take over games and make any QB uncomfortable in the pocket. That’s not to mention rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who’s had a pretty solid start to his career. The interior is where this line really shines, where absolute freaks like Vita Vea and Ndamokung Suh wreak havoc on the run game as well as being productive in the pass-rush. This line is one full of valuable veterans who can all produce at a high level, and when compared to the Eagles line, I think it barely edges them out. Point Bucs.
Linebacker
The Eagles linebacker core is weak. We know this. However, we’re finally getting to see young players like Davion Taylor and TJ Edwards get meaningful snaps over underperforming vets like Eric Wilson. Taylor looked like a breath of fresh air for this Eagles LB core, and he certainly has the athleticism to be a 3 down LB. Either way, this group is both weak and unproven at the moment.
The Buccaneers have the best LB core in the league because of course they do. Lavonte David is still an elite all-around linebacker and possibly one of the best coverage LBs in the league, but luckily for the eagles, he’s doubtful going into Thursday night. Even without David, Devin White is one of the most exciting young LBs in the NFL right now and would be the LB1 on most squads. Filling in for David will probably be rookie KJ Britt, who’s been serviceable in the snaps he’s received this season. Point Bucs even without David.
Cornerback
The Eagles secondary played lights out against the Panthers last week. Darius Slay has proven himself to be a true lockdown corner despite his age and finally came up with two great interceptions while simultaneously shutting down DJ Moore. Steven Nelson has been an excellent CB2 so far this season, coming up with a game-sealing pick of his own in week 5. This duo has been great on its own, but with Avonte Maddox having a breakout year in the slot, this core has proven itself to be one of the more consistent and safe CB rooms in the NFL.
The Buccaneers Cornerback core is possibly the only true weakness for this team. Two of Tampa’s starting corners, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Carlton Davis are on IR, leaving the only week 1 starter that’s still on the field, Jamel Dean, to shoulder the weight of this secondary. Jamel isn’t a bad player, but he’s not really CB1 material. Behind Dean is where the problems really begin. Recent FA signing Richard Sherman has been picked on since he joined the Bucs just two weeks ago, and Pierre Desir + Ross Cockrell behind Sherman are two players you never really want to see on the field but are now forced into starting roles. This CB room is incredibly weak, with no true CB1 and virtually no depth. Point Eagles.
Safety
Rodney Mcleod has played extremely well since returning to this Eagles defense, and as I predicted, it’s also had a very positive effect on Anthony Harris next to him. Harris and Mcleod form a very nice coverage duo who can help over the top and limit explosive plays like Gannon wants to.
The Bucs Safety room is the saving grace of this back 7, but even it has its faults. Jordan Whitehead has been just serviceable this year, and Antoine Winfield has taken a slight step back from his rookie year, but that may be due to the atrocious secondary playing in front of them. It’s a good coverage group that has the facilities to play the run. Neither of these groups really has a huge leg up on the other, so I’ll give it a tie.
Conclusion
In overall position group points, the Bucs outscore the Eagles 4-8 (Three ties). It’s obvious when looking at these rosters who the better team is overall. The Bucs have the best offense in the NFL led by MVP candidate Brady, and an absolutely scary front 7 on the defense to boot. If the Eagles hope to snatch a victory on Thursday, they need to exploit the ravaged Tampa secondary, scoring on every opportunity possible, while also getting some luck in the turnover department. Will the Eagles win this game? Probably not. But hey, any given Sunday.
Prediction: 35-24 Buccaneers
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
