Chip Kelly obviously deserves the blame for this mess. “I wish I would have stayed home and saved the money”, said Eagles fan Ron Lawrence of Tamapa Bay, Florida.
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To be fair, the offense wasn’t any better either. If not for a few costly penalties, the O-line would get an A along with the rest of the offense. That said, Mark Sanchez stunk up the joint with three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown that served as the cherry on top of Tampa Bay’s ice cream sundae.
But two weeks ago, the Eagles had just beaten the Dallas Cowboys, 33-27, in overtime. Winston threw a career-high four touchdown passes in the first half.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, November 22, 2015, in Philadelphia.
The Eagles entered this afternoon with a chance to tie the NY Giants for the best record in the NFC East, despite how disappointing their season had been leading into the game.
The Giants are in first place with a 5-5 record. Sitting at 5-5 in a mediocre conference, anything is possible for these young Bucs, just as long as their young backfield keeps rolling over defenses.
The Eagles actually got on the board first Sunday with the help of a wacky play. Jones continues to be the most reliable and consistent player on the Eagles with six punts traveling an average of 46.5 yards per punt, including two downed inside the 20-yard line (one went for a touchback). Washburn then went to Detroit and installed the same scheme.
The Bucs scored their first touchdown a little later in the first quarter and ended up taking a 28-14 lead at halftime. Winston is now only the third rookie QB in National Football League history to throw for 5 TD’s and only the 2nd to do it with 0 turnovers. He became the second rookie to ever throw four touchdowns against the Eagles in a game. The other was Robert Griffin III in 2012.
Meanwhile, Martin ran for 177 yards in the first half and the Bucs out-gained the Eagles 356-312 in the first half.
After a false start from Brandon Graham gave the Buccaneers a manageable third down, Winston pitched the ball to Martin, who ran 58 yards. Winston then tossed a 4-yard pass to Evans to tie it 7-7.
Friday’s win came one night after another all-around effort rallied them from 23 down to beat the Clippers 124-117 in Los Angeles, the NBA’s biggest comeback this season. Tampa was 10 for 16 on third down and 1 for 1 on fourth down. The Eagles were 7 for 15. The tight ends aren’t really doing much. In the receiving end, Mike Evans had 63 yards and one touchdown in four catches while Vincent Jackson added 56 yards and one touchdown in four receptions.
Walter Thurmond forced a fumble in his second straight game.
The Eagles appear to be a team going nowhere.
Sunday marked the Eagles’ worst defensive performance on third downs (by percentage) since Week 4 of 2013. Zach Ertz left the game with a concussion in the second quarter, expanding Celek’s role.
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-LB Kiko Alonso, who was acquired in the offseason in a trade with Buffalo that sent All-Pro RB LeSean McCoy to the Bills, still hasn’t gotten his sea legs back after missing five games with a knee injury. Running back Ryan Mathews will also be missing out the contest, while tackle Jason Peters is still questionable if he can make it to the game.
