Buccaneers: Studs and duds from win over Eagles
By Ryan Doyle
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on to beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Here are the Buccaneers studs and duds from the Week two win.
What a day.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their surprising start as they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-21.
Ryan Fitzpatrick put together an otherworldly performance. He threw for 402 yards and connected on four touchdown passes. With offensive coordinator Todd Monken calling the plays, Tampa Bay may have the NFL’s best offense.
The typically dominating Eagles defense had trouble slowing down the Bucs passing attack. The offensive line made sure Fitzpatrick remained upright. The overmatched Philadelphia secondary chased down open receivers all game long.
Tampa’s ability to dial up the deep ball proved to the difference. DeSean Jackson‘ 75-yard catch-and-run was just the beginning to a terrific day for the former Eagle. Last season, Tampa Bay’s offense rarely produced chunk plays. 2018 is an entirely different story.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tampa Bay defense did enough to secure the win. They held Nick Foles in check. While he completed 35-of-48 passes, he only averaged 7 yards per completion. The Bucs refused to get beat over the top.
The bend but don’t break defense worked fine as the offense carried the load yet again. The Bucs by no means had a great day on defense, but it felt like a massive improvement after what Drew Brees and the Saints did to them in Week One.
Let’s break down the studs and the duds from Tampa Bay’s shocking win over the defending Super Bowl champions.