Coming off a close loss to the Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles are starting to show signs of life after a comeback win against the Panthers and a strong showing in the second half of Thursday’s showdown with the Bucs. As Jalen Hurts is starting to come into his own and Miles Sanders, Quez Watkins, and DeVonta Smith continue to make big plays for the Eagles, things are starting to look up in Philly as they’re slowly turning things around.
Thursday night’s primetime match-up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like it was about to be another blowout win for Tom Brady and the gang, but after some serious defensive adjustments and a few key drives led by Hurts, the Eagles made it a game and came within one score of upsetting the reigning champs. With all this in the fold for Philly, let’s take a look at the two biggest takeaways from the Eagles tough Thursday Night Football loss to the Buccaneers.
Eagles made some critical stops on defense
After getting blown out for the most of the game, Philly’s defense finally stepped up in third quarter and made some big stops to slow down Tampa’s high-powered offense. Alex Singleton, Avonte Maddox, and Josh Sweat lead the charge for them on defense as they dug their way out of a 21-point deficit. Anthony Harris also had a productive night with three tackles and a timely interception that turned things around for the Eagles when they needed it most.
If Philly brought their A-game on defense from the get-go then it may have been a different outcome for the Eagles on Thursday night. With the Eagles looking to get a bounce back win against the Raiders next Sunday, it definitely can be expected that they’ll have another strong showing on defense and make things difficult for Las Vegas’ tough-minded offense. So watch out for their defense to put on another big performance for them in Week 7.
The Eagles need to upgrade their offensive line
The biggest problem for the Eagles offense on Thursday night was their inability to protect Jalen Hurts. Even though they came close to pulling off an upset win, Hurts spent most of the night on the run from Tampa Bay’s elite pass rush. If the Eagles want to have a fluid offense and get any kind of consistency and production throughout the season, then they’ll have to do a better job of protecting Hurts and giving him more time to make plays in the pocket so they can keep the chains moving.
When they were able to protect him they were much more productive and Hurts was able to move the ball around and utilize their deep threats. Hurts is one of the better mobile quarterbacks in the league, but they can’t survive if he’s constantly forced to scramble for the majority of their offensive possessions. So prior to their showdown with the Raiders in Week 7, Nick Sirianni and the Eagles coaching staff will have to make some adjustments to their offensive line.
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