Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds previews the upcoming Bucs game with six quick-hitting topics. What’s at stake for the Bucs and their opponent, what will lead to a Tampa Bay victory or loss and a couple of key matchups to watch each week.

The Bucs moved to 2-0 on the season with a 27-17 win against the winless Bears in Tampa Bay’s home opener. The Eagles remained undefeated by beating the winless Vikings in their home opener on Thursday Night Football.

What’s At Stake For The Bucs

Are the Bucs pretenders or contenders following their 2-0 start? The Eagles, who were the NFC champions a year ago, will provide them with a big test. This Monday Night Football game between two unbeaten teams will be a measuring stick game for Tampa Bay. A victory against a team favored by some to make it back to the Super Bowl would be a huge shot of confidence and a huge momentum boost for a young Bucs team. It would also be a huge awakening around the league, where national media types had written the Bucs off for dead before the season started because of Tom Brady’s retirement.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs are a very young football team at a lot of key positions and this will be the first prime time game for 14 players – 13 rookies and one first-year player in defensive tackle Mike Greene. That’s one quarter of Tampa Bay’s roster. How will they handle the pressure and the atmosphere? And more importantly, how will they stack up against one of the most talented teams in the NFL?

Tampa Bay started the season 2-0 last year, but fizzled to an 8-9 finish. The Bucs wound up winning the division for a second year in a row, but a 3-0 start would show a lot more promise. The team is 6-3 in terms of making the postseason after a 2-0 start in franchise history, including five of the last six times. That lone season was in 2018 when Ryan FitzMagic turned back into Ryan Fitzpatrick at home in a loss to a team from Pennsylvania on Monday Night Football – only it was the Steelers, not the Eagles. The Bucs finished 2018 with a 5-11 record.

What’s At Stake For The Eagles

Eagles DT Jalen Carter, OLB Haason Reddick and DE Josh Sweat – Photo by: USA Today

Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirani is having to adjust to losing both of his coordinators following a Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Former offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, while former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson has replaced Steichen and Sean Desai was imported from Seattle to run the defense.

Philadelphia is 2-0, but hasn’t looked as dominant as it was at times last year. The Eagles got off to strong starts against the Patriots and Vikings, but allowed both teams to creep back into the game in the fourth quarter. Philly wound up winning at New England by five points and beating Minnesota by six points at the end. Can they exert their will this week, let their talent overwhelm the Bucs and win convincingly on national TV?

The Eagles get the benefit of having 10 days off before playing the Bucs due to their Thursday Night Football victory over the Vikings. That extra time has allowed Philly’s new coordinators some time to do some extra game-planning and some self-scouting while the players rest up and heal from the first two weeks of football.

The Bucs Win If…

A lot has to go right for the Bucs to go toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow with the reigning NFC champions, but they have a puncher’s chance of scoring an upset. Todd Bowles and some of the veteran players have familiarity playing and beating Jalen Hurts and the Eagles. Tampa Bay won at Philadelphia on Thursday night in 2021, 28-22, and at home in the Wild Card playoff game, 31-15. The Eagles have gotten better since those losses, and the roster has only gotten more talented.

Bucs ILB Devin White and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs defense will get the benefit of playing a similar type of opponent for a second week in a row after dispatching the Bears, a less-talented team with a mobile quarterback who likes to run the ball, 27-17 last week. Hurts and his supporting cast – especially the Eagles’ star-studded, massive offensive line – will present far bigger problems for the Bucs defense. But in order for Tampa Bay to move to 3-0, the script remains the same: stop the run. The Bucs’ run defense ranks second in the league behind the Eagles’ (52 avg.), allowing just 54 yards per game. Holding the Eagles to under 100 yards on the ground is the goal.

Continuing to force takeaways on defense is also paramount for victory. The Bucs are plus-5 in the turnover margin and need to add to that while continuing to play turnover-free on offense. Tampa Bay’s offensive line will face some serious challenges up front with Fletcher Cox, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis having a decided edge over center Robert Hainsey and rookie Cody Mauch inside. It will be difficult to run the ball, so the Bucs might have to lean more on their aerial attack. Big games from Mike Evans and especially Chris Godwin are a must this week.

The Eagles Win If…

Winning the turnover battle will be huge. This Bucs team doesn’t have a huge margin for error. They beat the Vikings in Week 1 by just three points despite having a 3-0 turnover margin edge. Tampa Bay was 2-0 in the turnover department vs. Chicago and only won by 10 points. So forcing Baker Mayfield into some mistakes will be critical. And that means pressuring him up front.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and RB D’Andre Swift – Photo by: USA Today

Despite having a world of talented pass rushers up front, only three Eagles have sacks to start the season – Jordan Davis (1.5), Josh Sweat (1.5) and Jalen Carter (1) – and they’ve only combined for four sacks in the first two games. If the Eagles can shut down the Bucs’ run game and tee off on Mayfield, they have a chance of beating the Bucs in a blowout.

Offensively, Philadelphia got its ground game going last week, rushing for over 220 yards with 175 yards coming from new running back D’Andre Swift. The Eagles offensive line took over the game and mauled the Vikings’ defensive front. Running the ball effectively will take some of the pressure off Jalen Hurts to win the game with his right arm. And establishing the run also opens up play-action shots for Hurts downfield to hit DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown for big plays. Carlton Davis III’s status for Monday night is uncertain, but Smith and Brown need to win their matchups against a young Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean, who has not played well during the first two weeks of the season.

Bucs’ Key Matchup On Offense

Bucs O-Line vs. Eagles D-Line

Whoever wins in the trenches will emerge victorious on Monday Night Football. On paper, the Bucs offensive line looks overmatched except for the matchup between left tackle Tristan Wirfs and Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat, who primarily lines up on the right side of the defense. Wirfs will also face Derek Barnett, another capable rusher in some sub packages. Philadelphia’s defensive front is legitimately two-deep with starter-level talent.

Eagles DT Jordan Davis and Vikings QB Kirk Cousins – Photo by: USA Today

It’s an embarrassment of riches that features six first-rounders in Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Barnett. Seven first-rounders if you count Haason Reddick, who was Arizona’s first-rounder in 2017. Three of those first-rounders – Graham, Reddick and Smith – will take turns teeing off on right tackle Luke Goedeke, who must do his damage in the run game to wear down and wear out the Eagles edge rushers on the left side of the defense.

But the real test for Tampa Bay’s offensive line will come in the middle against the three-headed monster of Cox, Davis and Carter. Cox is the wily veteran who is coming off a seven-sack season and still has enough juice to rush the passer from the interior. Davis is a Vita Vea-like mutant at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds – and maybe more. He is pure power and will give both center Robert Hainsey and rookie right guard Cody Mauch fits. Carter is a Warren Sapp-like athlete with speed-to-power. He’s disruptive against the run and the pass. Whichever line wins in the trenches will go a long way towards determining Monday’s outcome.

Bucs’ Key Matchup On Defense

Bucs D-Line vs. Eagles O-Line

It’s trench warfare again on this side of the ball, too, with Tampa Bay’s talented group of run-stuffers and pass rushers against one of the most stout offensive lines in the NFL. The Bucs showed that they have multiple defenders who can get to the quarterback last week with six sacks of Justin Fields. For Tampa Bay to prevail, it has to penetrate the Philly line and get tackles for loss – stopping the Eagles’ bountiful backfield before it starts – to create third-and-long situations. Then it’s just like last week against Fields – set the edge, keep Hurts in the pocket and pin their ears back and rush the passer. That’s easier said than done, though.

Bucs NT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had a breakout game last week and led the way with two sacks against Fields. Fellow edge rusher Shaq Barrett also had a sack and a key pick-six in the fourth quarter. Those two and reserves Anthony Nelson, YaYa Diaby and Cam Gill will face a much stiffer challenge this week going against All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata, a 6-foot-8, 365-pound freak.

Philadelphia’s guards are no slouches, either. Both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens are second-round picks, although Jurgens is likely the weak link of the line. Veteran center Jason Kelce is still formidable and trucking along at age 35, but he’s not the player he once was. The Bucs will need another Herculean-type performance from Vita Vea and for Greg Gaines and Logan Hall to be stout up front. More importantly, Tampa Bay will need some juice up front from defensive tackle Calijah Kancey on third downs. The rookie could be an X factor on Monday night.