After Jalen Hurts and the Eagles fell behind by 24 points and didn’t reach midfield until the second quarter during a tough start on Sunday, coach Nick Sirianni said Philadelphia needs to “make some changes.”
The Eagles went more than a quarter without gaining any offensive yards in their 33-16 loss to Tampa Bay, the first game between the teams since the Buccaneers’ easy playoff win last season.
“We got to make some changes as far as what is going fundamentally,” Sirianni said.
Tampa Bay ended Philadelphia’s season for the second time in three years last January. Hurts has a record of 1-4 against Tampa Bay, with his only win coming in Week 3 of last season.
“I just have to play better,” Hurts said. “Production. Taking care of the ball. Just the efficiency.”
Tom Brady defeated Hurts in both the regular season and playoffs in 2021, and a 32-9 playoff loss to Baker Mayfield capped a surprising 2023 downfall where Philadelphia lost six of seven games after a strong 10-1 start.
The Eagles had just come off a 15-12 win against New Orleans, while the Bucs faced a disappointing 26-7 loss to Denver at home.
During most of the first half, the Eagles struggled on offense, missed tackles, and blocked a Bucs’ defender into their punt returner, leading to a fumble that Tampa Bay recovered.
Philadelphia was down 24-0 midway through the second quarter and had been outgained 254-0 during that time.
“No excuses for that,” Sirianni said. “We didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t play well enough.”
Tampa Bay ran 22 plays in Eagles territory before Philadelphia’s offense finally crossed the 50-yard line in the second quarter.
