Eagles vs. Buccaneers prediction, odds, spread, injuries, trends for NFL Week 3

Just about everyone expected the Philadelphia Eagles to start the season 2-0, but not as many people thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would too. Baker Mayfield has grabbed the reins down in Tampa and the former first-overall pick might be having a career resurgence. 

Despite how good Mayfield has been, the Bucs are still underdogs at home in Week 3. For a look at picks for this and every game on the Week 3 slate check out BetSided NFL betting expert Iain MacMillan’s “Road to 272.” 

If you’re betting this Week 3 NFL matchup, make sure to take advantage of this promo from the FanDuel Sportsbook. Just click the link below to sign up, deposit $5, then place a bet on this matchup and receive $200 in bonus bets, win or lose. 

Now, let’s get into the odds for the Eagles and Bucs on Monday Night Football. 

Eagles vs. Buccaneers odds, spread and total

Buccaneers vs. Eagles betting trends

• The Buccaneers are 2-0 ATS
• The OVER is 1-1 in Buccaneers games
• The Eagles are 1-0-1 ATS 
• The OVER is 2-0 in Eagles games

Eagles vs. Buccaneers injury reports

Eagles injury report

• Kenneth Gainwell - RB - Questionable - (ribs)
• Reed Blankenship - S - Questionable (ribs)
• James Bradberry - CB - Questionable (concussion)
• Quez Watkins - WR - Questionable (hamstring)
• Avonte Maddox - CB - Out indefinitely (pectoral)
• Nakobe Dean - LB - Out indefinitely (foot)

Buccaneers injury report

• Ke’Shawn Vaughn - RB - day-to-day (personal)
• Calijah Kancey - DL - day-to-day (calf)
• Carlton Davis III - CB - day-to-day (toe)
• SirVocea Dennis - LB - day-to-day (hamstring)
• Chase Edmonds - RB - day-to-day (knee)

Eagles vs. Buccaneers how to watch

• Date: Monday, September 25
• Time: 7:15 PM EST
• Venue: Raymond James Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ABC
• Eagles Record: 2-0
• Buccaneers Record: 2-0

Eagles vs. Buccaneers key players to watch

Eagles

D’Andre Swift, RB: It’s a running back by committee in Philadelphia, but with Kenneth Gainwell’s injury it appears that Swift is the No. 1 back. He went for 175 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries on Thursday night against the Vikings. Through two games Swift is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

Buccaneers

Mike Evans, WR: He’s now 30-years-old, but Mike Evans is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Last week against Chicago he went for 171 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. He’s seen a team-high 18 targets from Baker Mayfield and is averaging 19.8 yards per catch.

Eagles vs. Buccaneers prediction and pick

It makes sense that Baker Mayfield is having his best season in years, he has the best weapons he’s had on an offense in his entire career. For all the talk about Tom Brady leaving and the Buccaneers bottoming out, they still have a lot of talent on this roster. Mike Evans is poised for another 1,000 yard season and Chris Godwin has 10 catches for 109 yards through two games. Cade Otton has emerged as a solid tight end, and rookie Trey Palmer, their sixth-round pick out of Nebraska, has made nice grabs in each of the first two weeks including a touchdown in Week 1.

Mayfield’s offense is gaining 5.0 yards per play which is actually 23rd in the NFL, but they should have another good week because Philly’s defense is not the same unit that helped carry them to the Super Bowl last season. The Eagles came into the year lacking depth at linebacker and safety after TJ Edwards and CJ Gardner-Johnson left in free agency, but with injuries to Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship it’s gotten worse. The Eagles are 28th in the NFL allowing 5.9 yards per play and are 31st in pass defense. 

There was inevitably going to be some regression in terms of sacks for the Eagles. They nearly set an all-time sack record as a team in 2022 and weren’t even first in their own division in pressure rate. The Eagles are now fourth in the NFL in pressure rate at 31.7% and only have four sacks.

I have serious questions about Philly’s defense and I expect Mayfield to expose them like Kirk Cousins did in Week 2. I am also unsure about the Eagles offense with Brian Johnson now calling the plays. Johnson didn’t seem to have much rhythm as a play-caller last week and just relied heavily on the run when very little was working in the passing game, outside of a few bombs to DeVonta Smith. Those deep shots are somewhat unreliable in terms of having success week after week. Hurts is only averaging 6.5 yards per attempt after last season averaging 8.0, yet his average depth of target is up a whole yard from 8.6 to 9.6.

The Bucs will be able to stop the run with Vita Vea inside and still one of the best inside linebacker duos in football, Devin White and Lavonte David. Their defense is second in rushing yards per game allowed and sixth in yards per rush only giving up 3.3.

It feels like the Eagles are due for a loss. They got lucky with a pick-six and a Zeke Elliot fumble in Week 1 against New England, then last week they played one of the worst defenses in football. I think the Bucs win this one outright on Monday Night Football for a 3-0 start. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change