Buccaneers: 5 takeaways from Week 2 victory over Eagles
By Ryan Doyle
The stars shine along the defensive line
Tampa Bay’s defense faced a tough task in their second contest of the 2018 season. The Eagles boast one of the best offensive lines in the league and the stars on the Bucs defense were up to the task.
Gerald McCoy had little help in the interior as Beau Allen went down with an injury in the middle of the contest. McCoy took charge in the run game and managed to sack Nick Foles in a crucial spot.
Jason Pierre-Paul brought consistent rush off the edge and recorded a sack. He was in Foles’ face throughout and had another big game against a familiar foe. The Bucs pass rush hasn’t been all that impressive, but they got pressure when it mattered and made life tough on third down.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
DeSean Jackson gashes the Eagles again
After a huge game against his former employer (5/146/1), DeSean Jackson sits atop the NFL in receiving yards. Since leaving Philadelphia, Jackson has four 100-plus yard receiving games when facing the Birds.
Right out of the gate, Fitzpatrick found the speedy wideout downfield for a 75-yard touchdown. Fitzpatrick’s ability to connect with Jackson downfield has helped transform the Tampa Bay offense.
Last season, Jackson was an afterthought due to the lack of deep ball accuracy from both quarterbacks. This season, Fitzpatrick has been on the money, and Monken has dialed up the deep ball in the right spots.
This is an entirely new wrinkle into the Buccaneers offense. Early on, the Buccaneers have a handful of one-play drives because Jackson can put up six in the blink of an eye.
Our Michael Horan broke down how Jackson may be in for a rejuvenating 2018 campaign.