Baker Mayfield continues to bake fat rolls?
2-0 vs 2-0 and only one team remains in the undefeated circle in our Buccaneers vs Eagles tip. If we take last season as a yardstick, then in the end this can only be the Eagles.
The Eagles have hardly changed for the worse compared to last year, whereas the Buccaneers now have Baker Mayfield on the bridge instead of Tom Brady. So far, however, the much-travelled but often cut quarterback is doing a better job than expected.
Dennoch: We’d be very surprised if Mayfield, of all people, ended the Eagles’ winning streak now. Philly, on the other hand, has done the bare minimum so far, winning their games close but solid.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t have more in the tank. So for Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia, our prediction is that the Eagles will get serious and flex their muscles for the first time this season. It will be Mayfield and his colleagues who will suffer their first defeat
Kickoff for this clash of the unbeaten is Tuesday night at 01:15 in Tampa. The match can be watched live on DAZN.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Statistics & current form
The Bucs have started the season with 2-0 victories against all expectations. However, they also had “only” the Vikings and the Bears as opponents – two teams that have clearly underperformed to date. How do they do now against the first real top team?
That depends on whether they can continue to perform at the upper limit of their capabilities or not. And on how many ball losses they can generate. So far they are in a strong second place in the +/- ratio of turnovers in the league.
Ball security as a fist asset
In their two wins against Minnesota and against Chicago, there was one statistic that was absolutely crucial: turnovers. They won that battle 3-0 against the Vikings and 2-0 against the Bears, each time capitalising and scoring.
Especially against the Vikings, these were the decisive points. The problem: The Eagles are also far ahead in this statistic. They have already lost the ball twice, but have been able to steal it from their opponents six times.
Whoever manages to win this duel will have a big advantage on their side. However, we do not expect the 0 on the Bucs’ side of the ball to continue after this game.
No real strength
The Bucs are convincing so far with a mix of many points they are doing reasonably well. Top 10 passing offense (243.0 yards per game), top 3 rushing defense (52.0 yards) and just a very good turnover ratio.
In all these three points we still see them weaker than the Eagles, who also have one of the best rushing offences in the NFL. In this respect, we do not see any area in which the Bucs can be dangerous to the Eagles. So with Tampa vs. Philadelphia, a bet on Philly is almost a no-brainer.
Key Players:
QB: Baker Mayfield
RB: Rachaad White
WR: Mike Evans
TE: Cade Otton
K: Chase McLaughlin
Philadelphia Eagles – Statistics & current form
Philly is currently only third in many power rankings in the NFC behind the Cowboys and 49ers. Yet they are also 2-0 and were nearly unbeatable in the preseason. That should hurt them and they will do everything they can to leave the Cowboys behind as quickly as possible.
Is Tampa just a way station in the process? We actually think so, because they are inferior to the Eagles in all parts of the team. Even their success against the clearly inferior Bears should not hide that fact.
They run and run and run
Once again this season, it doesn’t seem like any team can stop these Eagles on the ground. They scored 259 rushing yards against the Vikings and three touchdowns. Even the much-feared 1-yard run by Jalen Hurts was there again – undefendable.
Now, though, they face the second-best defence on paper against the run. That’s just paper, though, because we don’t see the Bucs’ interior line in particular as being as strong as the Eagles’. Swift, Hurts and Co. should be able to deliver well over 100 rushing yards again.
Many or few points?
A big question will be which way the game goes. Will it be a low-scoring affair or will the Bucs let it get to a shootout. That wouldn’t sit well with them and then we see Philly’s margin of victory end up being over ten points.
But even in a low-scoring game, a 5-6 point lead is certainly quite possible, which is why a bet on Philadelphia -4.5 points is our preferred betting option for Buccaneers vs Eagles.
Key Players:
QB: Jalen Hurts
RB: Rashaad Penny
WR: A.J. Brown
TE: Dallas Goedert
K: Jake Elliott
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Philadelphia Eagles Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Eagles are hot to finally beat Tampa again. You can already hear that from their interviews. Their last win against the Bucs was almost ten years ago and no one from the current team was there then.
So the Buccaneers’ record is 4-0 in recent years, with some painful defeats like the last one in the playoffs at the beginning of 2022. Jalen Hurts will certainly still have this defeat on his mind.
He will be motivated, his defence will be motivated to go after the Cowboys. And the Bucs will have to suck it up. That makes Tampa vs. Philly odds on the Eagles playable in several ways: with a handicap, halftime/final score, or on their own Over 25 points.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Philadelphia Eagles betting tips
Just as the Cowboys are facing an expected win against the Cardinals, so are the Eagles against the Buccaneers. However, Philly is only given a -4.5 point handicap, which is still 8-9 points less than the Cowboys.
We should use that for betting, which makes a bet on Philly -4.5 our No. 1 bet for Buccaneers vs. Eagles. Followed by betting on a rushing touchdown from Jalen Hurts, who ran into the end zone twice by himself against Minnesota.
One more alternative we have: Last year, there was no team that led at halftime more often than Philly. They also led at halftime in each of their first two games of the season, which makes betting on Eagles halftime/final score a nice betting option here.
