The Eagles’ defense was brought back to reality against the Buccaneers: “We’re not producing (good results)”

TAMPA, Fla. – The Eagles defense fooled everyone last week into thinking their problems were fixed. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter dominated, linebacker Zack Baun played well and other defenders made a strong impression in the team’s 15-12 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

A week later, the Eagles returned to their old habits and played poor defense in a 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

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They couldn’t stop Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and his group of playmakers, including wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and made too many self-inflicted mistakes. Philadelphia gave up a season-high 445 yards, allowed the Buccaneers to score touchdowns on three of their first four drives, struggled to make key third-down stops and missed 12 tackles.

The Eagles could blame the Heat for some of their problems. At kickoff, the temperature was 88 degrees, with a real-world feeling of 101. Carter and safety CJ Gardner-Johnson both left the fourth quarter with cramps, and other players commented after the game that it was difficult to play in those conditions.

However, most of their problems had nothing to do with the weather. The Eagles battled poorly, struggled in coverage and didn’t generate enough pass rush. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been unable to address these issues and may lack the personnel to play a good defense.

The Eagles failed to get enough stops in their two losses (Buccaneers and Falcons) this season and couldn’t slow down the Packers in their Week 1 win.

After the bye week (September 30th – October 5th), the defense needs to play much better or they won’t win many games.

“It’s just frustrating knowing the talent that we have and knowing that we’re not producing like we should be,” Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff told NJ Advance Media after Sunday’s loss.

Mayfield, who completed 30 of his 47 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns, had success against Philadelphia’s defense without making too many throws down the field. He delivered quick passes to his wide receivers, giving them the opportunity to make plays after the catch.

On Tampa Bay’s second scoring drive, Godwin caught a pass out of the backfield, beat Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox on a juke and ran 28 yards to the Philadelphia 36-yard line on first down. Three plays later, Mayfield threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trey Palmer, who was closely covered by cornerback Darius Slay, to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Had Maddox tackled Godwin near the line of scrimmage, the Eagles defense would have been in a better position. They could have made two more stops to force the Buccaneers to punt inside the 50.

The Buccaneers’ first possession was a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive that lasted over five minutes. Mayfield completed 8 of 9 passes for 62 yards in the series, including his 2-yard touchdown pass to Evans. Then the next time he completed all four of his passes.

“We were a little behind early,” Eagles safety Tristin McCollum said. “We had a hard time stopping Baker from his first reading. He likes to make quick throws. And when we allow him to make those quick throws, it’s hard to get them out of rhythm.”

Tampa Bay’s second and third scoring streaks each took five games. They started their third drive at the Eagles’ 22 because Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers pushed Buccaneers special teamer Josh Hayes into Cooper DeJean, who was returning the punt, causing a fumble.

At halftime, the Eagles were fortunate to be behind all day. Tampa Bay nearly scored another touchdown in the second quarter, but the ball slipped out of the hands of undrafted rookie wide receiver Kameron Johnson. Johnson ran past Slay in the end zone and was wide open when the ball was thrown to him. The Buccaneers could have taken a 28-0 lead, but they settled for a field goal on fourth down to make it 24-0.

Buccaneers right tackle Luke Goedeke didn’t play yesterday, but still only gave up two sacks. Eagles edge rushers Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat each finished the game with a sack. But the Eagles needed Huff, who agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract with the team during free agency, to pursue Mayfield more closely.

“I know it’s kind of frustrating for me because I can’t get home (to quarterback),” Huff said. “I am frustrated with my own performance. At the end of the day, all I have to do is upload stats.”

The Eagles helped the Buccaneers score a few times, including in the 12-game series where Johnson dropped the ball. Safety Reed Blankenship, who left the game in the second quarter due to illness, was called for pass interference on the Buccaneers’ 23rd-and-7 pass.

At the end of the third quarter, Maddox was called to hold on third-and-14 from the 50-yard line. The Buccaneers then ran five more plays before kicking a field goal with 12 minutes, 59 seconds left to take a 17-point lead (33-16).

The Eagles were an undisciplined team through the first two weeks of the season. They also missed 12 tackles against the Falcons, according to Pro Football Focus. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni talked about the importance of fundamentals for two weeks (after Week 1 and Week 2) and was proud of his team for tackling the Saints better. Now he’ll likely be disappointed again because his team missed too many tackles in Week 4.

“It’s just a matter of being more consistent and acting more consistently,” Baun said. “Against the Saints we had a missed tackle. I don’t know how many we had today, but I’m sure it was a lot.”

McCollum, who replaced Blankenship at safety, said the defense needs to do a better job of getting to the ball on tackles. With 13 games remaining, the Eagles’ defense still has plenty of time to turn things around, but it has to happen quickly.

“The game plan was to go out and make sure we got stops. We just didn’t understand it,” Graham said. “It’s up to us as a whole. It’s not just one person. We can all take something from this. I feel like we’re getting better. …”