But the in-house consensus was that once the run-defense sputtered, there was trouble.
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“It was embarrassment”, Cox said.
At 5-5 and trending in the right direction, the Bucs could wind up being more than that when the regular season comes to an end. And missed kicks and blocked punts on special teams cost them a couple games, too.
But color left tackle Jason Peters unconvincing in his response to whether the team still believes in Kelly.
The Eagles fought, there’s no question about that. Sproles answered with the same wave.
“I feel very confident in Mark Sanchez”, coach Chip Kelly said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that”. “And so the mature part is that we talked about it again”.
Sproles was unavailable for comment. The game wasn’t that close. DeMarco Murray fumbled on the third play of the game but the Bucs’ defense fumbled the ball back and the Eagles started over. “If I get suspended, I’m going to come back even stronger”. None of it worked. His pass is a little out in front of Sims, who has to dive to make the catch and is tackled a yard shy of the first-down marker. Did we mention the Eagles take on Stafford and the Lions in four days? You guys can get it then. Martin would have broken the mark set by Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith. The maintenance people got an early start on cleaning the Linc that emptied early. They come to the line with two tight ends, an extra offensive lineman and only one receiver, Vincent Jackson. Surprisingly, Martin didn’t score a touchdown.
The cynic would say Kelly’s game planning needs plenty of work: Kelly’s game planning needs plenty of work. Asked if he remained confident that his staff was emphasizing the right things, he said, “Yes, I am”.
“It cost us seven points”, he said.
“Awful all day, starting with me”, said Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis.
Much of it was Winston, the No. 1 overall pick in the last draft, whose passes were accurate and quick, consistently connecting with wide-open teammates. The Bucs accumulated 521 yards and 25 first downs. And now, the Eagles are two games under. It seems impossible, but the Eagles gave up five passing touchdowns and 246 yards without a single interference penalty. Before Sunday, he had thrown four touchdown passes in five games. The Eagles went 10-6 and 10-6 in Kelly’s first two seasons and won NFC East in his first year at the helm. I’m not sure he’ll be able to, but I think he’ll at least get the chance. Martin had several long runs on the day including gains of 84 and 58 yards. Evans’ 63 receiving yards allows his to pass Mike Williams (2010-11) for the most by a Buccaneer in their first two National Football League seasons.
The Bucs answered late in the opening period, after a mental mistake by the Eagles gave Tampa Bay’s drive new life. He takes over. He can’t help it, it’s in his blood to lead – and to win. The defensive front got to Winston five times for a hit on the quarterback, but recorded just one sack. Huff spared Kelly the celebratory somersault.
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“I apologize (to the fans) for how we played football today”, Barwin said. Just like last week, Johnson found out in the minutes before the game which side he was playing.
