TAMPA — The Eagles built a big lead on Monday night but this time they continued it to a convincing 25-11 victory against the Buccaneers on national TV.
The Eagles are 3-0. They are one of only three teams remaining undefeated after Week 3.
Here’s a look at the report card from this game:
quarterback
Jalen Hurt: 23/37, 277 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 71.6 rating
It wasn’t a perfect performance from Hurts but the Eagles’ franchise quarterback arrived Monday night with some flu-like symptoms and struggled. He looked better in this game than the last two. The two passes to Olamide Zaccheaus, especially the 34-yard touchdown in the second quarter were prime Hurts. He has great pocket awareness, knows to take a shot and delivers a perfect ball regardless. Hurts threw a couple of interceptions. The first was a miscommunication by D’Andre Swift but the second was dropped in double coverage. Hurts said he tried to give DeVonta Smith a chance to play but it was not a good decision. However, a good performance for Hurts and the bow is certainly in focus after a somewhat shaky start to the year.
Grade: B
Running back
D’Andre Swift: 16 carries, 130 yards
Swift became the first Eagles running back with 130+ yards in back-to-back games since LeSean McCoy in 2014. And Swift did it in his second and third games as an Eagle. Swift is explosive in general and has shown his creativity, vision and leaping ability in this game. He is a fun player to watch.
Grade: A
receiver
AJ Brown: 9 catches on 14 targets, 131 yards
Remember all the talk about the Hurts-Brown argument in Week 2? Things are OK. The Bucs ended up being without their top two corners for most of this game and the Eagles took advantage. It was Brown’s fourth-most yards in a single game since joining the Birds. Zaccheaus was 2 for 58 after going catchless in his first two games. Smith had a quiet 4 for 28 but had games like that here and there. Just a football.
Grade: A
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 5 catches on 7 targets for 41 yards
After entering the game with just 22 receiving yards, Goedert got things cooked up a little more in this one. Still not a breakout performance but he caught passes and moved the chains. And the Eagles came out with 12 personnel on this play and ran all over the Bucs. Yes, and Jack Stoll caught his first pass of the year.
Grade: B
Offensive line
From the time Todd Bowles took over the Tampa Bay defense in 2019, the Bucs had the best run defense in the NFL. This is only the third time a team has rushed for 200+ yards against them under Bowles. Not only did the OL clear big holes for Swift but they also protected Hurts, who had time to throw and was sacked just once for a six-yard loss.
Grade: A+
Line of defense
Jalen Carter: 2 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 QB hit, 2 FF
Through three games, the strength of this Eagles team has been the defensive line. They only had two sacks on Monday night but they made some big plays. Carter was outstanding and forced the ball back late in the second quarter. The Eagles also had a great safety run by Jordan Davis and Carter when the Bucs were backed up in the third quarter. Even Marlon Tuipulotu had his second career sack.
Grade: A+
Linebacker
Nicholas Morrow: 2 tackles, 2 TFLs
The Eagles didn’t seem to miss Nakobe Dean much on Monday. The Eagles are without their middle linebacker again (on IR) but the combination of Zach Cunningham, Nicholas Morrow and Christian Elliss did the trick. On that safety, Morrow shot into the backfield to get credit for the TFL with Jordan Davis.
Grade: B
second
Reed Blankenship: 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU
The Eagles entered this game without Avonte Maddox and then injured Justin Evans and Sydney Brown during the game. Both were listed as questionable but did not return. Sure, Mike Evans got his catches, but overall the Eagles secondary held up. And Blankenship picked off Baker Mayfield’s first interception of the season.
Grade: B
Special teams
Britain Covey: 3 punt returns, 81 yards (27.0), long of 52
Covey had a career-long punt return of 52 yards and also had a free kick after a safety return of 30 yards. His day was really strong. And Jake Elliott continues to be automatic. He made all three of his field goals and the two extra points on a new possession. There aren’t any major special teams fouls or fouls in this one.
Grade: A
teaching
Record: 3-0
You can nitpick and find fault with some of the early offensive play-calling but they ended up with 472 yards. The Eagles need to finish better in the red zone — going 1-for-5 won’t cut it — but this was their most complete win of the season and some of that was in the execution. They should have put up 40. Defensively, despite being shorthanded, the Eagles held the Bucs to 11 points and just 174 offensive yards.
Grade: A-
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