Eagles vs Buccaneers Preview: Baker Mayfield’s Dominant Play for Tampa Bay?

We’ve got two games on the schedule for Monday Night Football!

We’ll look at the first of two games on the slate of the NFL matchups between two undefeated teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles and Buccaneers are first in their respective division’s NFL standings.

The Eagles were expected to be this good. However, the Buccaneers weren’t. Tampa Bay has been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL to begin the year.

Will they continue to shock the world on Monday?

Check out the Eagles vs Buccaneers preview to see which team will stay undefeated beyond Week 3.

Eagles Need To Get A.J. Brown More Involved

Through two games, Eagles standout wide receiver A.J. Brown has only earned 108 yards on 11 catches with no touchdowns.

Brown played in all 17 games last year and added nearly 1,500 yards receiving with 11 touchdowns on 88 catches.

His connection with Jalen Hurts hasn’t been the same this year.

In last week’s game against the Vikings, emotions were high, and A.J. Brown had some things to say to Jalen Hurts on the sideline after another wasted possession.

When the media asked about the argument on the sideline Thursday afternoon, Brown backtracked and said it was a discussion. He also acknowledged that there’s no beef with his quarterback Jalen Hurts, despite what it looked like on camera last weekend.

When the television broadcast caught Brown and Hurts, they had a heated exchange. Head coach Nick Sirianni interjected and talked with Brown while Hurts left the conversation.

Brown is taking care of things the right way. He doesn’t want to throw anyone under the bus. But that conversation was essentially Brown pleading to be more a part of the offense.

If anything, Hurts should have more respect for Brown after he told the media there was nothing there. Those two were dominant last year and should be more dominant again this year.

At 2-0, the Eagles are still sitting comfortably. Nobody’s panicking.

Baker Mayfield’s Resurgence

Baker Mayfield was drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. The former Oklahoma Sooner was dominant in college. Cleveland hoped he would figure it out in the NFL.

However, while Mayfield had a few solid seasons, the Browns didn’t. Mayfield has been sacked 171 times since his career began in 2018. That’s inexcusable.

In 2022, Mayfield finally left the Browns for the Panthers. He played in seven games and completed only 57.8% of passes, with six touchdowns and six interceptions. He didn’t fit in very well.

Then, in 2022, Matthew Stafford went down with an injury, and Mayfield was given an opportunity in Los Angeles to play for the Rams. He played better, completing 63.6% of passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions. But he was still sacked 17 times in five games.

The Buccaneers watched Tom Brady retire this season and needed a veteran quarterback to take over. Mayfield won the job over Kyle Trask and has looked sensational through two games.

We don’t want to overreact, but he’s completed 69.1% of passes for 490 yards. Mayfield has also limited interceptions to none and has three touchdowns. Most importantly, Mayfield has been sacked just once.

He looks like a No. 1 pick right now.

Mayfield has found his favorite target, too. Mike Evans has 12 catches for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Maybe Evans will stay with the Buccaneers after all.

Below, we’ll look at the Eagles vs Buccaneers preview and odds for Monday night’s NFC showdown.

Eagles vs Buccaneers Preview

On the road, the Philadelphia Eagles are -5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. Meanwhile, the total is 46.

The Eagles have won seven of their last ten games. They’ve also won their first two games of this season. However, Philadelphia is just 4-5-1 against the spread over their last ten games.

This season, the Eagles covered against the Patriots in a 25-20 win as 3.5-point favorites. Meanwhile, last week, the Eagles pushed at -6 against the Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Both games have gone over the total in Philadelphia’s games.

On the other hand, the Buccaneers have covered each of their first two games against the NFL spreads. Tampa Bay was a 4-point favorite against the Vikings and won outright, 20-17. Last weekend, the Buccaneers earned a 27-17 win as one-point favorites against the Bears. That game went Over the total. However, the first game of the season went Under 45.

Tampa Bay has defeated the Eagles in their last four games, dating back to 2015.

The Buccaneers Are Underrated!

The Eagles and Buccaneers have looked very similar to begin the year. We didn’t think we’d be writing that in our Eagles vs Buccaneers preview in the preseason. The Eagles might have more notable talent on their roster, but the Buccaneers are playing just as well now.

The Buccaneers have earned 341.5 yards per game on offense. The running game has been stagnant behind Rashaad White, but Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers have earned 245 yards passing per game this season.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have allowed 340 yards in the air per game this season. That secondary for the Eagles has allowed the Patriots and Vikings back in their respective games. Both teams had a chance to come from behind and earn wins against the Eagles.

The secondary hasn’t played well. Mayfield has another chance to be dominant under center for the Buccaneers.

Philadelphia has shockingly allowed nearly 400 yards of offense per game this season.

On the other hand, the Eagles have earned 359.5 yards per game on offense. However, the passing game has only reached 181.5 yards per game. With DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown, that’s truly unacceptable.

The Buccaneers’ worst portion of their defense throughout the first two weeks has also been the secondary. Now that Hurts and Brown are likely on the same page, the passing game should have more success in Monday’s game.

Like the Eagles, the Buccaneers have been dominant against the run defensively. But we’ll still stand by the Eagles having the better overall run defense.

Philadelphia should have success offensively. Tampa Bay will bring solid pressure, but Jalen Hurts can handle it. He’ll run from the pressure or find some opener receivers down the field. That’d make Brown happy.

Still, we believe that Baker Mayfield will play strongly at quarterback against the Eagles. Therefore, we’ll ride the Over 46 in this game.

For NFL betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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