Beating Bucs' "Evil Genius" And The Heat Keys To Eagles Winning In Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. – Stopping the blitz and beating the heat are two big keys to any chance of winning the Eagles have in a place where they haven’t won very often in recent years, in the backyard of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles blitzed Jalen Hurts on 71.6 percent of his dropbacks in the last three meetings against the Eagles quarterback.

“We know who we have this week in Todd Bowles and how much of an evil genius he is, you know, as far as just evil geniuses that could design anything and everything,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “He brings everything. He's not scared to bring the house over and over again. Different looks, too. …I mean, when you watch the film, just like, man. How does this guy keep getting away with it?”

The Eagles were tested against the Chiefs when defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo blitzed Hurts on 16 of his 25 dropbacks, for a 64 percent blitz rate. It was the highest blitz rate Spags had ever used in a game throughout his long, illustrious career.

Hurts threw for just 101 yards, but he completed the big play of the game on a KC sellout blitz, throwing it up to DeVonta Smith, allowing the receiver to make a play on it for a 28-yard gain to the 3-yard line to set up a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 20-10 lead on their way to a 20-17 win. Center Cam Jurgens thought it was a good test for the O-line.

Heating Up In Tampa

Cam Jurgens answers questions after the Eagles beat the Commanders to reach Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

“For sure, especially on the road,” he said. “I’ll give it to everyone at Arrowhead. That place was rocking. It was loud...I thought the guys did a good job communicating verbally and physically, with all of our different hands and everything, because you can’t hear.

“You can be two, three feet away, and you’re not going to hear somebody. We talked about unscouted looks, and you’re just seeing things. It’s the work during the week. You’re knowing the call before you see it, and you’re trying to react off of everything going on.”

As for the heat, Jalen Hurts took it in stride.

“You just gotta go out there and play,” he said. “I don’t want to make it more than what it is.”

But it is. The Eagles altered their typical travel schedule to arrive in Tampa on Friday to try to acclimate to the heat.

“It plays a factor,” said Jurgens. “I think a lot of it is dealing with the heat and those guys are in it every day. It’s a little different up here. I think that plays as much of a factor as well.”

The Eagles need to keep their offense on the field in the heat, so their defense isn’t on their heel all game. As Jurgens, said the Eagles played behind the stick early in last year’ 33-16 loss that saw them fall behind 24-0 midway through the second quarter because the offense kept gong three-and-out.

“(The heat) is for sure an advantage for us,” said Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield. “Not that we are able to just withstand all the heat, but we have to tell ourselves we have been in it for a long time, and we have been dealing with it for longer than the other team has.

“You could tell in the secondary, those guys were tired, especially with what we were doing last week, putting the ball on the perimeter, making them chase and tackle. We can feel it, and that is when you have to tell yourself - and guys in the huddle will say, 'Hey, we are not as tired as they are’ - we have to push and finish this (drive) in the end zone. It is always good to have somebody remind you of that.”

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