What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 4 vs. the Bucs

At this rate, the Eagles may never lose again. Probably.

Thanks to Jordan Davis’ heroics in the win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the Eagles are 3-0 for a third time in the last four seasons. They’ve won 19 of 20 games since the 2024 Week 5 bye, with the lone loss coming against the Washington Commanders in Week 16 when Jalen Hurts exited the game early with a concussion.

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The schedule doesn’t get any easier this week, though. The Eagles are on to Tampa Bay, which has been their own personal house of horrors over the last four seasons. Oh, and the Bucs are 3-0 to start the season, too, pulling off late-game comebacks in all three victories.

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles heading into Week 4:

Hurts and A.J. Brown weren’t just on the same page on the field in the second half of the Eagles’ win over the Rams. They were on the same page off the field, too, regarding their sentiments about the state of the offense.

If you were still tuned into the Fox broadcast after the game had concluded following Davis’ blocked field-goal attempt, you may have caught Hurts’ interview with sideline reporter Pam Oliver. He prefaced his takeaways with the understanding that “it’s always good to get a win,” but he didn’t mince his words that followed about the offense’s listless start.

“We’ve played so many styles of football where in that first half, we’ve got to get out of this ‘playing not to lose,’” Hurts said. “We’ve got to come out aggressive and play our game. You saw our game in the second half.”

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown wants the Eagles to ‘let your killers do their thing’ after second-half air explosion vs. the Rams

Brown expressed a similar opinion in the locker room.

“I think, me personally, I truly believe, man, we’ve got so many good players on this team,” Brown said. “And at times, you can feel like we’re being conservative. I don’t think it should be like that. I think it should [be], let your killers do their thing. And play fast and play aggressive.”

That “aggressive” nature was missing for the first 2½ games this season. That wasn’t necessarily by design for the first half on Sunday, according to Nick Sirianni. The Eagles coach said Monday that in the offensive meetings last week, the need to be aggressive was a point of emphasis.

“When you’ve got the guys that we have on offense, you’re going to see, when you’re explosive in different ways, you’re going to see stuff that you don’t see on tape,” Sirianni said. “And what we said all week, particularly Jalen and [offensive coordinator] Kevin [Patullo] and obviously, I thought this as well, was we’re the offense. We’ve got to be in this mode of attacking. And that’s what our mindset was.

“The first half didn’t play out that way for multiple different reasons. But I think that’s what … Jalen was saying there. I think that was A.J. was saying here.”

In the second half Sunday, Patullo and the Eagles offense didn’t have a choice but to be aggressive. The Eagles had fallen behind, 26-7, early in the third quarter. Their execution faltered when Lane Johnson went down with a neck injury on their first possession. Saquon Barkley didn’t have an inch on the ground in the run game. Hurts was strip-sacked on the Eagles’ opening possession of the second half, marking the team’s first turnover of the season that ultimately contributed to their 19-point deficit.

The Eagles were forced to abandon the run-first approach that led them to success in 2024 and throw the ball more frequently. Their execution was better, especially on deep and intermediate passes. According to Next Gen Stats, Hurts completed 7 of 9 passes over 10 air yards in the second half on Sunday for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

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This was far from a perfect win for the Eagles, but there’s a lot they can learn from Sunday’s game as they head to Tampa to take on the NFL’s 11th-ranked defense in yards allowed. But can they bring the aggression from the jump against the Buccaneers and play to win starting with the first quarter?

Historically, that’s been an issue for the Eagles. In five matchups against the Buccaneers under Sirianni, the Eagles have combined for just 10 points in the first quarter while Tampa Bay has scored a total of 52.

One of the noticeable differences for the Eagles offense in the second half was their use of no-huddle. There are benefits to going up-tempo, especially for the stress it can inflict on an opposing defense (limiting substitutions, creating play-calling and communication challenges, etc.).

In essence, to reiterate what Hurts and Brown said, the Eagles were able to impose their will through their increased use of no-huddle in the second half. According to Next Gen Stats, the Eagles went no-huddle on more than half of their plays (53.7%), whereas in the first half, they had just one play using it.

In the first half, the Eagles offense gained just 33 yards, which was their lowest total in more than a decade. In the half that followed, the Eagles racked up 255 yards and notched 26 unanswered points to pull off the come-from-behind win. Could the Eagles incorporate more no-huddle going forward?

“I think it’s important as an offense in general to make it about what you do as an offense and not necessarily the opponent,” Hurts said. “There are a lot of great defenses, a lot of exotic looks you may get. There may be someone who chooses to attack us in a certain way and it’s about having the built-in things to respond to those things when they come.”

With the Eagles leaning into the passing game in the second half, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula attempted to dial up the pressure. He sent extra rushers at Hurts on nine of his drop backs, but the Eagles quarterback managed to complete five of those attempts for 69 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats.

The pass protection on Brown’s touchdown in the third quarter was especially impressive, as it was Hurts’ first touchdown pass against the blitz this season. Before the snap, Rams inside linebackers Nate Landman and Omar Speights walked up to the line of scrimmage. Tyler Steen signaled to Barkley in the backfield that pressure was coming up the B gap from Speights, so he would slide protection his way while Barkley picked up Landman in the A gap.

They handled the blitzing linebackers successfully, keeping Hurts clean and allowing him to connect with Brown on a goal-line fade.

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The Eagles should expect to see extra rushers from Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, who has a reputation for dialing up the blitz (and simulated pressures). Tampa Bay is blitzing on 35% of opponent drop backs, which is the sixth-highest rate in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. The Bucs blitzed at their highest single-game rate of the season against quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Jets offense (40.4%) and registered a season-best — .74 expected points added per play allowed, which measures the average points a defense gives up on a play.

Last season, Bowles blitzed Hurts on 40.5% of his drop backs, which was the third-highest rate Hurts faced in the regular season. He completed 6 of 10 attempts for 53 yards and a touchdown, but he also faced a season-high eight pressures and was sacked on four occasions. The Eagles will need to carry over their second-half success against the blitz into their upcoming matchup.

While the Eagles defense tightened up Sunday as the afternoon progressed, especially on the ground, it also got bailed out by some bad passes from Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. He completed just 57.6% of his passes, his worst rate of the season.

He wasn’t under pressure on some of his most egregious misses that came in the red zone. On first-and-goal early in the second quarter, Stafford placed a pass too high for Davante Adams, who was open against Quinyon Mitchell on a slant in the end zone. On the following pass, he appeared to overthrow tight end Tyler Higbee.

Stafford missed Adams again in the red zone late in the second quarter on third down when he threw a pass too far in front of him on an out-breaking route.

» READ MORE: Sielski: Jordan Davis is a new man and a better player. His transformation saved the Eagles against the Rams

The Eagles might not get as lucky against Baker Mayfield if they fail to pressure him. The 30-year-old quarterback carved up the Jets’ defense in the Buccaneers’ 29-27 comeback victory when he wasn’t under duress. Mayfield completed 16 of 20 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown when kept clean, according to Next Gen Stats.

Mayfield has orchestrated game-winning drives in three straight contests this season. It’s worth noting that those games were played against teams that have combined for one win among them (the 0-3 Jets, the 1-2 Atlanta Falcons, and the 0-3 Houston Texans).

But the opportunities to pressure Mayfield should be there. Right tackle Luke Goedeke (foot) and right guard Cody Mauch (knee) are both on injured reserve, requiring backups Luke Haggard and Charlie Heck to step up in their places.

The Buccaneers could have one of the league’s better receiving corps if not for injuries. Chris Godwin has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Week 7 last season. Emeka Egbuka, the rookie receiver who led the Bucs with six receptions for 85 yards on Sunday, is playing through hip and groin injuries.

Now, Mike Evans reportedly is expected to miss time because of a left hamstring injury that he suffered in the fourth quarter against the Jets. Godwin could potentially return this week, although Bowles said after Sunday’s game that it’s “too early to tell” if he can make his season debut.

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Evans tends to draw his opponent’s best cornerback, so football fans will be deprived of an Evans-Quinyon Mitchell matchup. The 2024 defensive rookie of the year finalist has taken on more responsibility in his second season under Vic Fangio, traveling to either side of the formation to defend opposing teams’ top receivers.

Mitchell had his first true shadowing test on Sunday, matching up with Adams in coverage on 22 routes, according to Next Gen Stats. He allowed two receptions for 12 yards on five targets, but he was also flagged for pass interference on a deep ball intended for Adams in the second quarter. Still, it was an encouraging performance from Mitchell against one of the league’s savviest veterans as he builds on his strong rookie season.