By Skip Charles in Vegas
Here’s how Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer scopes out the Eagles on MNF:
Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+4.5)
It’s been a shaky start for the Eagles’ passing game so far.
Out of 630 qualifying quarterback performances since the start of the 2022 season, Jalen Hurts’s showing last week against the Vikings ranked 614th in success rate.
It was the worst start of Hurts’s career by that metric. Of course, it’s not all on Hurts.
Defenses are throwing different looks at the Eagles, and the passing concepts from new OC Brian Johnson haven’t always given Hurts good answers.
Against the Vikings, the Eagles’ solution was to run the ball, and that worked well. But they definitely need to be more consistent throwing the ball.
As for the 2-0 Bucs, they have to be considered one of the NFL’s biggest surprises. Baker Mayfield is completing 69.1 percent of his passes and has been sacked only once. Mike Evans looks great, and Tampa Bay still has a lot of talent on defense.
Having said that, the Eagles should have an advantage with their defensive line against Tampa Bay’s offensive line in this one. And Hurts has shown in the past that he can problem-solve.
I think he will get back on track, and the Eagles will take care of business here.
The pick: Eagles (-4.5)
