Bucks vs. Eagles
when: Monday, January 15, 2024 | where: Raymond James Stadium – (Tampa, Florida) | Expedia kick off: 8pm ET | tv set: ESPN/ABC
For each play: Joe Buck | Analyst: troy aikman Side job: Laura Rutledge & Lisa Salters
wireless: 98 Rock 97.9FM | For each play: Gene Deckerhoff Analyst: Dave Moore | Side job: TJ Rives
As game day approaches, it’s time for the Pewter Report staff to make their weekly game predictions and provide game previews for this week’s matchups. Let us know what you think in the comment section of the article. Please also add your predictions.
Scott Reynolds: Chase McLaughlin wins in Tampa Bay
Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin has shown us what perfection looks like all season. He made all of his field goals beyond the line of scrimmage. His only two “mistakes” were actually blocked field goal attempts.
Bucks K. Chase McLaughlin – Photo courtesy of USA Today
In my 28 years covering Tampa Bay football, I’ve seen a lot of bad kickers. I’ve also seen great work by Martin Grammatica and Ryan Succop. Both helped the franchise win the Super Bowl. McLaughlin would score the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter and the Bucks would defeat the Eagles and advance to the playoffs.
In this game, two teams go in opposite directions. The Bucks have momentum, They won the NFC South Championship last week and have won five of their last six games. The last time Tampa Bay took the field at Raymond James Stadium, a 23-13 loss to New Orleans is a reminder that the Bucs need to win battles in the trenches to win. It will be.
The Eagles have lost five of their last six games and are limping into the playoffs without any momentum. This is currently causing some dissent in Philadelphia, where the Eagles are not playing as a team. Several of the team’s stars and stars have struggled with injuries, including quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. They will play, but how effective will they be?
Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield is recovering from rib and ankle injuries and was pitching better on Friday than he has in two weeks in terms of velocity and accuracy. Mayfield and the Bucs’ defense will do enough to put Tampa Bay in position to finally get the win for “Money” McLaughlin, who scored all nine of the team’s points in last week’s win at Carolina.
Reynolds game prediction: Bucks 23, Eagles 20
Reynolds season record: 10 wins, 7 losses.
Matt Matera: The Bucks narrowly lost in a slugfest game.
This game will be closer than the 25-11 game between the Bucks and Eagles in Week 3. But what’s similar is that you’ll get a relatively low score. One of these violations is not visible. The problem is one or the other. The Bucks are on the right track, winning five of six games, while the Eagles have lost five of six. But once the playoffs start, I don’t think it matters that much.
Bucks S. Antwan Winfield Jr. – Photo courtesy of USA Today
The Bucs, on the other hand, didn’t score a touchdown in their last game, but have scored two in the past eight quarters, both in the fourth quarter of Week 18. Baker Mayfield has two injuries, and the Bucs’ pass blocking has taken a step back. And the team’s game plan has no flow.
Meanwhile, the Eagles’ offense has been plagued with injuries, including Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and AJ Brown, who was recently announced to be out of the game. Additionally, Brown has deleted all Eagles-related content from his social media. Although the Eagles have lost heavily recently, they are still racking up points.
I would like to see the Bucs get back to involving Rathard White in the passing game. Saquon Barkley just torched the Eagles in that fashion last week, and the Bucs should do the same with White. The Eagles, on the other hand, will try to make it work, just like they did in Week 3.
There are also many questions about the defense of both teams. Tampa Bay will have to dominate with blitzes to create sacks and turnovers or they will be toast. As the Eagles struggle with that pressure, keep an eye out for many defensive back blitzes from first-time All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. Philadelphia’s interior front is great, but the back end has a lot of issues.
This game might be their last possession as I don’t think either group will be able to take full advantage of the other’s inefficiency. Even though they have a lot of issues, the Eagles still have better players that can bring them wins late in the night.
Matera Prediction: Eagles 22, Bucks 20
Matera’s season record: 10 wins, 7 losses
Bailey Adams: Bucks’ improbable run continues for another week
I find this game very difficult to call. The Eagles are a better, more talented team. But they’ve gotten even tougher, losing five of their last six games. they are going in the wrong direction.
Bucks HC Todd Bowles – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Meanwhile, the Bucks have won five of their last six games and are trending upwards. But the loss to the Saints in Week 17 and the win over the Panthers in Week 18 were big setbacks from the team’s four-game winning streak, so Baker Mayfield & Co. is hoping to recapture some of the December magic as the playoffs begin. will need to be discovered.
The Eagles will try to stay in the trenches and if they are as successful as they were in Week 3, they will advance to the NFC divisional round despite recent trends. But if the Bucs can manage to protect themselves on both sides of the line of scrimmage, they’ll have a chance, too.
Tampa Bay should be able to take advantage of Philadelphia’s very struggling defense, which finished the season ranked 30th in points allowed per game. If we can get Rashard White active in the run game and short passing game, he could help open things up in the passing game with Mayfield and force the ball down the field against the Eagles’ 31st-ranked pass defense. .
Todd Bowles has done a good job against Jalen Hurts in the past, and as long as the group is fit enough for the run to avoid a monster day out of Philadelphia’s backfield, the Buccaneer defense will be better this time around. I think it will hold up well too.
I feel like I’m walking into a trap here, believing in the Bucs going against a team that is more talented and just went to the Super Bowl last year. But I’ll do it anyway.
Adams’ game prediction: Bucks 24, Eagles 20.
Adams’ season record: 9 wins, 8 losses.
Josh Quapo: Bucks fall to a familiar enemy
The atmosphere between these two is completely in the Bucks’ favor. Philadelphia is 1-5 in its last six games. Tampa Bay is 5-1. The Eagles suffered multiple injuries at the end of the regular season. The Bucks have a very big injury (Baker Mayfield) but are otherwise getting healthier. Philadelphia’s defense has allowed nearly 29 points per game over the past five games, while the Bucks’ defense has been much better, allowing just 16 points per game over the same span.
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo courtesy of USA Today
But I still can’t get over the trench matchup. The Eagles’ defensive line, especially the middle defensive line, is vastly superior to the Bucks’ interior offensive line. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, and Milton Williams represent a much better group in terms of talent than Aaron Stinney, Robert Hainsey, and Cody Mauch. This mismatch will likely force Mayfield to run, scramble and move more than usual.
A fully healthy Mayfield has proven to be better at that than previously thought. But this isn’t a fully healthy Mayfield. Between bruised ribs and hip ankles, his mobility is likely more of a liability than a strength. All of this contributes to low scoring from the Bucs offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucs have struggled to consistently chase the passer this year. Bright spots were seen even in small sample sizes. Earlier in the season, Shaq Barrett and more recently Yaya Diaby named the couple. But the Bucks lived by the blitz and died by the blitz for most of the season.
In the first matchup, the Bucs blitzed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on 75 percent (27) of his dropbacks. That’s an outrageous number. And they were only able to apply pressure on his 10 of 27 blitzes.
One of the reasons the Bucks weren’t able to get a lot of pressure is because the Eagles’ offensive line is still great. Led by bookend tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson and future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce, the Eagles are just tough to beat up front. This could allow Hurts and the Eagles’ passing attack to succeed and establish the run game.
It’s a word you often hear in the soccer world. You win in the trenches. And the Eagles are a great fit there, likely leading to a home playoff exit for the Bucks for the second year in a row.
Quipo’s game prediction: Eagles 24, Bucks 13
Quipo season record: 11 wins, 6 losses
Adam Slivon: Bucks survive primetime and advance to playoffs
Playoff football is here. After a 9-8 season full of ups and downs, the Bucks won the NFC South and are scheduled to play the Eagles. The two teams played against each other back in Week 3, but they haven’t been the same team since then. Instead, they trended in the opposite direction to close out the regular season.
Bucks RB Rathard White – Photo courtesy of USA Today
In the case of the Bucks, they have won five of their last six games and continue to grow through ups and downs. Looking at the matchup against the Eagles, it’s clear that Philadelphia has more talent, especially in the trenches. Still, they regressed as the season progressed, losing five of their last six games. With that in mind, anything could happen in this playoff matchup.
Given injuries to Baker Mayfield (ankle/rib) and Jalen Hurts (right finger), and the possibility of rain Monday night, this game will be played against Rashard White and It may depend on how successful D’Andre Swift is on the field. .
Tampa Bay’s run game has struggled intermittently this season, with White gaining just 38 rushing yards on 14 carries in his first game against Philadelphia. To have more success this time around, the offense would do well to design runs that take him out of the tackle and away from the likes of Jalen Carter, Fletcher Cox and Jordan Davis. Being able to play the run game is critical to controlling the tempo and going on long scoring drives.
By comparison, that’s exactly what Swift did for the first time. He had 130 rushing yards on 16 carries, averaging over 8 yards per carry. His performance was a big factor, but the Bucs’ run defense had additions in Kalya Kansi, Yaya Diaby, and a healthier Devin White. Cuncey did not play in Week 3, and Diaby had not yet emerged as a starter. For White, after playing through a hamstring injury, he’s healthier than he was then. Additionally, he could step up in the playoffs, which could be his last time with the team.
As I watch this game play out, I don’t think either the Bucks or Eagles will have a complete advantage based on their recent play. We expect a back-and-forth game with lots of runs and short passes. Bucks players talked this week about being more physical because they were down on that in the first game. This time, I predict that Tampa Bay will win a hard-fought battle to knock Philadelphia out of the playoffs.
Slivong’s game prediction: Bucks 20, Eagles 17
Srivon’s season record: 12 wins, 5 losses
