Eagles coach says team has to ‘make some changes’ after dismal start in loss to Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. — After Jalen Hurts and the Eagles fell behind by 24 points and didn’t cross midfield until the second quarter following a dismal start Sunday, coach Nick Sirianni said Philadelphia has to “make some changes.”

The Eagles were held without an offensive yard for more than a quarter of their 33-16 loss to Tampa Bay in the first matchup between the teams since the Buccaneers’ one-sided playoff win last season.

“We got to make some changes as far as what is going fundamentally,” Sirianni said.

Tampa Bay ended Philadelphia’s season for the second time in three years last January. Hurts is 1-4 against Tampa Bay, the lone victory coming in Week 3 of last season.

“I just have to play better,” Hurts said, “Production. Taking care of the ball. Just the efficiency.”

Tom Brady beat Hurts in the regular season and playoffs in 2021, and a 32-9 playoff loss to Baker Mayfield capped a stunning 2023 collapse that saw Philadelphia lose six of seven games after a 10-1 start.

The Eagles were coming off a 15-12 win at New Orleans. The Bucs, on the other hand, had a frustrating 26-7 home loss to Denver.

Most of the first half saw the Eagles completely misfire on offense, miss tackles, and block a Bucs’ defender into their punt returner that resulted in a muff which Tampa Bay recovered.

Philadelphia trailed 24-0 midway through the second quarter and had been outgained 254-0 over the stretch.

“No excuses for that,” Sirianni said. “We didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t play well enough.”

Tampa Bay ran 22 plays in Eagles territory before the Philadelphia offense crossed the 50-yard line in the second quarter.

Hurts threw a touchdown pass to Parris Campbell late in the second and added a one-yard TD run on the opening possession of the third to make it 24-14.

Down 30-16 late in the third, Hurts moved the Eagles to the Bucs 19 before linebacker Lavonte David sacked him, and forced a key fumble.

Hurts finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and no interceptions. He was sacked six times

Saquon Barkley rushed for 94 yards on 10 carries. He had a 59-day dash on the Eagles’ first play in the second half.

The Eagles’ receiver corps remained short-handed with A.J. Brown’s missing his third consecutive game with a hamstring injury. DeVonta Smith suffered a concussion a week ago against New Orleans and was also out. Britain Covey was placed on injured reserve this week with a shoulder injury.

Pro Bowl tackle Lane Johnson sat out with a concussion.

“We got to get everybody healthy,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said. “We got to get people out there. But we’ve got to make sure all locked in and focused on the details. We’ve got to focus on little things.”

The Buccaneers, meanwhile, will take a 3-1 start that has them in a position to chase a fourth consecutive NFC South title.

“We had a good quarter, and that’s all it is,” coach Todd Bowles said Sunday after Mayfield accounted for three touchdowns to fuel the win.

“The season is four quarters,” Bowles added. “We’ve got three more quarters to go and we’ve got to show up and play like that every quarter.”

Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evans became the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader in dominating the rematch of January’s lopsided NFC wild-card game.

Rebounding from a poor performance in a loss to Denver the previous week, Mayfield completed 30 of 47 passes without an interception and the offense scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time in 21 games. Evans’ 2-yard scoring reception finished the 10-play, 79-yard drive that set the tone for the Bucs.

“Wanted to get (previous week’s) taste out of our mouth, for sure,” Mayfield said. “Started fast because the guys were just locked in. We came out with a hair-on-fire mentality. Everybody was locked in on what the plan was and we executed. That needs to be the case every week. That’s how we need to start.”

Evans, who finished with eight receptions for 94 yards, moved ahead of Martin Gramatica (592) into first place on Tampa Bay’s scoring list with 596. Mayfield also threw a first-quarter TD pass to Trey Palmer and scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal to make it 21-0 early in the second quarter.

The Bucs held a 287-67 edge in yardage at halftime, with most of Philadelphia’s offense coming on a 14-play drive that Hurts finished with a 1-yard TD throw to Campbell.

Despite the huge disparity statistically, the Eagles managed to get back into the game after Barkley began the second half with a 59-yard run to the Bucs 11.

That set up a 1-yard TD run by Hurts that cut into a 24-7 halftime deficit. The Eagles gave themselves a little more hope when Kelee Ringo scooped up a blocked extra-point kick on Tampa Bay’s next touchdown and raced to the other end of the field for a defensive two-point conversion that trimmed the Bucs’ lead to 30-16.

Hurts took the kickoff and moved the Eagles to the Bucs 19 before David sacked him, forcing a fumble that essentially ended the chance for a successful comeback.

“It starts with me in terms of getting into the end zone and leading drives,” Hurts said. “The only thing I can say, I’ve got to be better.”

BACK IN THE HOUSE

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was back at Raymond James Stadium as part of the FOX television broadcast crew. He played the final three seasons of his career with the Bucs, leading Tampa Bay to one Super Bowl title and a pair of NFC South championships before retiring after the 2022 season. Brady stood in the broadcast booth and acknowledged cheering fans when the Bucs officially welcomed him back during the two-minute warning in the first half.

INJURIES

Eagles: Besides Brown (hamstring), Smith (concussion) and Johnson (concussion), LB Devin White (personal matter) also was inactive. S Reed Blankenship (illness) sat out the second half. DT Jalen Carter and C Cam Jurgens (cramps) missed time in the fourth quarter as the temperature on the field exceeded 100 degrees.

Buccaneers: All-Pro S Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot), DL Calijah Kancey (calf) and RT Luke Goedeke (concussion) were inactive. … Palmer left the game late in the first quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. … LB SirVocea Dennis (shoulder) departed in the second quarter and did not return.

UP NEXT

Eagles: Bye week before hosting Cleveland on Oct. 13.

Buccaneers: At NFC South rival Atlanta on Thursday night.