Eagles vs. Bucs Notebook: Flu Game, DNA, The 'Other' Kelce & Swift
TAMPA - The boxing references were obvious at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night, be it Jalen Carter authoring a Mike Tyson-like punch of the football from Raachaad White in the second quarter, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers figuratively crying "No Mas" by the end of the third quarter.
Only one unbeaten emerged, and it was the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles remaining the real heavyweight after drubbing the Bucs, 25-11.
HURTS SO GOOD
Jalen Hurts hasn't looked like himself early this season or tonight when the Jordan Brand spokesman took that a little too literally by playing through his own flu game.
It wasn't as dominant as Michael Jordan's or on a similar-sized stage but you saw some classic Hurts late in the second quarter on the Eagles' first touchdown drives. In both cases, Hurts extended the play just enough to get the football off to Olamide Zaccheaus for backbreaking gains, first a 24-yarder and then a 34-yard touchdown throw. The completions were the first as an Eagles for Zaccheaus, who got extended playing time with Quez Watkins out with a hamstring injury. It's fair to start thinking if Oz gives a little bit more to the offense than Watkins.
As for Hurts, he threw two picks and isn't playing like an MVP statistically but he's now 20-1 as a starter in his last 21 regular-season games and the fourth-year quarterback has won 10 consecutive starts on the road.
DNA GAME
If the NFL calls for an autopsy of the game, the Eagles' DNA is going to be all over it. Philadelphia believes in building up front on both sides of the football and pours assets into the two lines. It's no coincidence that the Philadelphia offensive line blew the vaunted Tampa Bay front off the ball and the interior of the defensive line just tormented Baker Mayfield all night.
HECK OF A REED
Mayfield is prone to throwing the football a little too late and that flaw changed the game in the second quarter. The Bucs quarterback looked like he had a TD to Mike Evans in the corner of the end zone but there wasn't enough zip and Sydney Brown closed for a PBU.
From there, after the Eagles answered a Tampa Bay field goal with a touchdown, Mayfield again threw late across the middle and it looked like the savvy Reed Blankenship baited the veteran QB to throw the football for an easy interception.
KELCE AND SWIFT
It might not be Travis and Taylor but Jason Kelce and D'Andre Swift aren't a bad backup to the "it couple." Swift had his second consecutive superlative game and this was a lot more impressive than piling it on against a porous Minnesota defense.
Swift finished with 130 yards on 16 carries and his first explosive run was garnered by staying on Kelce's hip as the running back burst up the middle.
"It's great," Swift said of running behind the Eagles' offensive line. "... they make it easy. Just going through my keys pre-snap and then trusting my eyes -- they make it easy."
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back D'Andre Swift (0) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY
THE SQUEAKY WELL GETS THE OIL
Whatever you want to make of A.J. Brown's outburst on the sideline in Week 2, the star receiver got 14 targets. No other Eagles' receiver was looked at more than seven times by Hurts.
"You don't know (who is going to be targeted each week)," Brown said. "You are going to get opportunities and you have to make the most of them. That is what it really boils down to - just making plays.
"We have a lot of great guys around us, and you just have to make plays when the ball comes to you."
BRITAIN-IA
Punt returner Britain Covey had his best game as a pro with three punt returns for 81 yards, including a career-high 51-yarder and also a 30-yard return on a free kick.
The undersized but speedy Covey is proving the Eagles' patience in him was well placed.
GEORGIA-DAWGS
Carter and Jordan Davis continue to perform at dominant levels. Carter shared a sack with Fletcher Cox, along with his forced fumble, while Davis obliterated the Bucs O-Line on a third-quarter safety.
Davis is also one of the the main reasons Philadelphia’s defense allowed only 41 rushing yards against the Bucs and kept both Tampa and Minnesota in Week 2 at 45-or-less, the first time that had happened Weeks 2 and 3 in 1994.
PRIME TIME PLAYERS
Coach Prime might be all the rage in college football, at least until this week, but the prime time players in the NFL are the Eagles, who have won six of their last seven at night and are already 2-0 this season.
FLORIDA HEAT
The temperature was 88 degrees at kickoff and the Eagles did seem to rotate a bit more than usual but the heat did not seems to have any real adverse effects for the visitors.
NICKEL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
The Eagles did end up going piecemeal in the slot, starting with James Bradberry but also sprinkling in rookie Sydney Brown liberally. A safety by trade, Brown is a highlight to Sean Desai's willingness to try new things.
