Zyon McCollum Reveals Bucs' Key for Limiting Eagles' Barkley

For the first time this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter a game where their opponent has the same gripe with key injuries. While the Bucs defense has sustained several blows in the early going, the Philadelphia Eagles offense has serious questions about the availability of their top receivers.

A.J. Brown (hamstring) and Devonta Smith (concussion) both did not practice Wednesday. Additionally, the Eagles placed Britain Covey on injured reserve this week.

That leaves a sizable gap to overcome for the visitors in the passing game if all three miss Sunday's game. Regardless, the Bucs have plenty to worry about considering Saquon Barkley remains both available and dangerous out of the backfield.

"He's a very talented back and his jump cut is unlike anything we've ever seen before... they have a big o-line," Bucs defensive back Zyon McCollum said. "We just need to do our job, but creating push. If we don't control the line of scrimmage... they'll push us off the ball and they'll just continue to run."

Barkley leads the league in rushing with 351 total yards and 117 yards per game. Altogether, the Eagles have a top three rushing offense in the league. Considering those challenges, the Bucs will need to prepare for a battle up front, as McCollum points to.

Tampa Bay lost decisively in that aspect against the Denver Broncos, conceding 136 rushing yards a week ago. 70 of those yards went to Tyler Badie, but 47 more went to quarterback Bo Nix, a decently mobile quarterback himself.

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Barkley and Hurts are certainly a more formidable duo. However, with the focus on getting a push up front, the running back remains the primary responsibility. If Philadelphia takes a similar edge in this contest, it will be an even longer day for this Bucs defense.

With the uncertainty on the Bucs' line with players including Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, controlling that phase of this game could be a more complex issue. But the Bucs cannot be handled so convincingly up front.

Completely stopping such a versatile player like Barkley is impossible, but containing him could be a feasible task for this group. Tampa Bay meeting that goal could make a difference in this matchup.