Week 6 of the NFL season gets started on Thursday night as the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) make their third National TV appearance of the young season. After a five-touchdown performance from Tom Brady, the Bucs head north this week to face the 2-3 Philadelphia Eagles. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and the game will be broadcast on FOX and NFL Network.
These teams last met in 2017, with Tampa Bay winning 27-17 at home, and they have won both meetings since 2013. All-time Philadelphia is 10-9 against the Bucs but just 5-6 at home. The Eagles beat Brady in Super Bowl LII, but they are just 2-5 against him all-time.
Bucs
Brady and the Bucs have the top-ranked passing offense in the NFL. Last week against Miami, Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-17 rout. Antonio Brown and Mike Evans both had two touchdowns in the win as they combined for 237 yards.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski will miss his third straight game with a rib injury, while linebacker Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield are also out for Thursday. Tampa’s defense has allowed 17 points in two straight games after surrendering 34 against the Rams in Week 3.
Evans has 29 catches on the season, as does Chris Godwin. Brown, Godwin, and Evans are all over 300 yards on the season, and they have combined for nine of Brady’s 15 touchdown passes.
Leonard Fournette leads the Bucs with 251 rushing yards, while Ronald Jones II has 98 yards. Both have one rushing touchdown, while Brady and Godwin also have rushing scores.
Running Game Struggling for Eagles
The Eagles are 0-2 at home this season and 2-1 on the road, meaning new coach Nick Sirianni is still looking for his first home win. Philadelphia’s pass defense is ranked third in the NFL, and they will put their strength against the Bucs strength this week. Darius Slay had two of the Eagles’ three interceptions against Carolina on Sunday.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles ground game with 256 yards as running back Miles Sanders has totaled just 48 carries on the season. Sanders has 214 yards for a 4.5 yard per carry average, and he has yet to find the endzone this season.
Hurts has 1,365 passing yards and has thrown for at least 300 yards in four of his nine NFL starts. He has seven touchdowns passing, three rushing, and three interceptions on the season.
Hurts has found a nice connection with first-round pick DeVonta Smith, who has a team-leading 25 catches of 314 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Dallas Goedert reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 this week which would leave veteran Zach Ertz in that role Thursday night.
Betting Analysis
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -7 (-110). Money line -300
- Philadelphia Eagles +7 (-110). Money line +240
- Total Points: 52.5. Over (-110). Under (-110)
This game features the Tampa Bay passing game against the Eagles’ pass defense. The Eagles have been one-dimensional all season, with the play calling heavily tilted toward the pass game. The Bucs have had some secondary issues but still, have a formidable pass rush and the linebackers to keep Hurts in the pocket.
Free Pick: Bucs -7 (-110)
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