The sledding does not get easier for the Eagles after their dramatic comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles travel to Tampa, Fla., to face the Buccaneers next Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, a place that has been a house of horrors in Jalen Hurts’ career.
The Eagles have lost four of five games to the Bucs with Hurts under center, including dismal performances during the 2021 and 2023 playoffs. Last year’s regular-season loss in Tampa came without wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who missed the game with injuries.
With Tampa Bay coming off a narrow win over the New York Jets, the third straight game with a comeback drive from Baker Mayfield, here are some early keys to Sunday’s matchup:
Backfield duo
Though the running game hasn’t been consistent for the Buccaneers in 2025, the talented duo of Bucky Irving and Rachaad White should provide another stiff test for the Eagles’ defense. Irving was a pleasant surprise for the Bucs last season, leading the team in rushing yards (1,122) and touchdowns (8) and finishing fifth in receptions (47).
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With Josh Grizzard taking over Tampa Bay’s play-calling duties following Liam Coen’s departure, the diversity in the Bucs’ run-game scheme has been a constant. After 57.1% of called runs came outside the tackles against Atlanta in Week 1, 63.2% of called runs came between the tackles against Houston in Week 2, according to Next Gen Stats.
Irving is more of an elusive, speedy runner, while White is more of the downhill, powerful runner. The pair is averaging 3.6 yards per carry this season, and Tampa will likely rely on the run game even more due to wideout Mike Evans leaving Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury and a revolving door among the offensive linemen.
Offensive line struggles
Tampa is set to get left tackle Tristan Wirfs back for Sunday’s game, but the offensive line as a whole has struggled. The team lost right tackle Luke Goedeke and right guard Cody Mauch to the injured list. The right side of the line is susceptible to allowing pressure in passing situations. The running game has suffered as well, managing 3.6 yards per carry against the Jets.
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Though New York sacked Mayfield just once on Sunday, he was taken down four times against Houston in Week 2 and was pressured on 18 of his 45 drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats. That trend carried over from Week 1, when Mayfield was pressured on 15 of his 37 drop backs.
But as Patrick Mahomes showed the Eagles in their Week 2 matchup, Mayfield can escape from pressure and use his legs to pick up first downs. According to Next Gen Stats, Mayfield finished with 45 scramble yards, the second most of his career.
When Mayfield wasn’t pressured against the Jets, he completed 16 of 20 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. But with a makeshift offensive line, expect Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to send extra pressure to try to overwhelm offensive line replacements Luke Haggard and Charlie Heck.
Bowles will blitz heavily
Todd Bowles is known to dial up blitzes, and entering Sunday’s game against New York, he brought five-man or more pressures at the sixth-highest rate in the NFL, according to Fantasy Points Data. One of the four sacks the Bucs had on Sunday came from safety Antoine Winfield Jr. turned into a strip-sack of Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
During last season’s matchup, Hurts threw for just 158 yards and was pressured by Tampa on exactly half his dropbacks (18 of 36), according to Next Gen Stats. He was sacked six times, four of them against the blitz, which Tampa employed on 14 passing plays.
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In addition to having a fearsome blitz package, Tampa pass rusher YaYa Diaby had a career game against the Jets. Next Gen Stats credited him with 11 pressures on his 30 rushes, the highest in the NFL since Week 8 of last season, along with one sack. Four of those pressures came in 2.5 seconds or less.
Diaby sacked Hurts once during last season’s matchup. Former Eagle Haason Reddick, who signed with Tampa in the offseason, will also be part of a Bucs front four that will chase after Hurts. Reddick has plenty to prove against the team that traded him two summers ago.