Buccaneers vs. Eagles: What's the Game Plan for Tampa Bay?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) will head out on the road after a two-game homestand, travelling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles (4-5) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

The Bucs will be looking to halt the league’s longest streak without consecutive wins at 31 games, and both teams will try to improve their record to .500 for the season.

After tying for the league’s worst record last year, the Bucs have already doubled their win total from 2014 this season. Top overall draft pick Jameis Winston is already showing veteran traits at quarterback, and the team has overcome a plethora of injuries on both sides of the ball.

Tampa Bay’s defense will face a unique challenge this week against Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and his fast-paced offense, which will make substitutions difficult and forcing three-and-outs vital.

Let’s take a look at what the Bucs need to do on both sides of the ball to come away winners on the road this week.

Offensive Game Plan

The Bucs have done their best to build their offensive identity around a strong ground attack led by a resurgent Doug Martin, and it’s worked well for them so far this season. This week, that will be Tampa Bay’s primary focus yet again, as they look to take pressure off Winston and control the clock with sustained drives.

Philly’s run defense hasn’t been much to write home about so far this season, as it ranks 20th in the league, allowing 111 yards per game on the ground. Opponents have had a more difficult time punching into the end zone against the Eagles via the run, however. Philadelphia has allowed just three rushing touchdowns all year, tied for the second-lowest total in the league to this point.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press/Associated Press

Doug Martin has failed to top 100 rushing yards in a game since Week 7, but he got more involved in the passing game last week, adding 40 yards through the air to his 63 rushing yards. He’s still on pace to tally nearly 1,600 total yards this season, his best mark since posting just shy of 2,000 total yards when he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2012.

Look for a heavy dose of Martin and change-of-pace back Charles Sims, who provides the “lightning” to Martin’s “thunder,” especially as a talented receiver out of the backfield.

A strong running game from Tampa Bay will help it set up the play-action pass, helping to clear space for Winston at the second level and deeper down the field. He’s still likely to be short-handed when it comes to pass-catchers this week, as nagging injuries continue to plague Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but Mike Evans has provided big plays, while rookie undrafted free agents Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries have performed admirably.

It should be a simple recipe for the Bucs this week: control the ball for long periods of time with the running game, take shots downfield when they get the chance and eliminate mental errors and turnovers.

Defensive Game Plan

The Bucs won’t be facing the Eagles’ starting quarterback—Sam Bradford is still dealing with multiple injuries—but that doesn’t mean the Philly offense will miss a beat with Mark Sanchez taking the snaps.

Sanchez will start Sunday, per the Associated Press.

Bradford tossed 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over his nine starts this season, with Sanchez coming in to relieve him during last week’s nail-biting home loss to the Miami Dolphins. Bradford has struggled with consistency all year long, and Sanchez has the benefit of more time spent in Kelly’s system.

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Just like the Bucs, Philly boasts a top-10 rushing attack in the NFL, averaging just over 117 yards per game on the ground. That said, the Eagles will be without their most effective back this week, as Ryan Mathews will miss Sunday’s game with a concussion, per NFL.com.

DeMarco Murray leads the Eagles with 451 rushing yards, but Mathews has just 24 fewer yards on 53 fewer carries, averaging 5.7 yards per carry to Murray’s 3.5. Mathews also leads the Eagles with five rushing touchdowns.

The key for Tampa Bay on defense this week will be forcing as many three-and-outs as possible, as early as possible. When a team runs its offense at such a high tempo, short drives are even more troublesome, since it sends its defense back out on the field even faster. The Eagles snap the ball with as much time left on the play clock as possible, making it even more important they move the chains to keep their defense fresh for four quarters.

Sanchez turned the ball over 14 times in nine appearances for the Eagles last season, proving he’s capable of making poor decisions with the football. If the Bucs can handle the tempo and force short possessions and some key mental errors by Sanchez, they’ll be setting the tone for their second straight win.

Top Matchups and Players to Watch

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Mike Evans vs. Eagles Secondary

With the rest of the receiving corps either banged up or inexperienced for the most part, all eyes in the Philly secondary will be on Evans. Despite struggling with a recent string of frustrating drops, Evans has put up impressive numbers, catching 16 passes for 276 yards over the past two games.

All of the Eagles corners are listed at 6’0” or taller, which should help them hang with the 6’5”, 231-pound Evans. His ability to improve his consistency and focus while winning 50-50 balls and moving the chains on third down will be key to Tampa Bay’s success on offense this week.

Bucs linebackers vs. Mark Sanchez

The play-action game is a vital part of Chip Kelly’s offense and will put added pressure on Tampa Bay’s linebackers to read and react quickly and correctly to what’s happening behind the line of scrimmage without ending up out of position against either the run or pass.

With Kwon Alexander, Lavonte David and Danny Lansanah, the Bucs have the athleticism at the position to make big plays, but they’ll have to bring their best mental game this week if they want to avoid being gashed by big plays because of poor decisions and angles.

Prediction

Philly’s never an easy place to win, but the Bucs are riding some positive momentum after getting a big comeback win last week, proving their defense has turned a corner and their rookie quarterback can make big plays with the game on the line.

This game will come down to turnovers and time of possession, as the Bucs will do their best to establish Doug Martin and the ground game in an effort to sustain drives and keep the Eagles offense off the field.

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Conversely, if the Bucs can keep the Eagles offense from consistently moving the chains, their uptempo style will come back to haunt them, giving their defense even less time to rest than most teams after a three-and-out.

Tampa Bay’s top-10 rushing attack should carry the day for them while Winston bounces back from his first game with a turnover in five games. Look for the defense to do just enough to keep it close, with a couple of mistakes from Sanchez to help them along the way.

If given the ball at the end of the game with a chance to win it, Winston will make it happen again.

Final Prediction: Buccaneers 20, Eagles 17

All stats courtesy of NFL.com

Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.