Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Philadelphia

It seems ridiculous now, as the dust settles on the Philadelphia Eagles’ 45-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers (5-5) have won two straight games for the first time since 2013. Shortly after, the Buccaneers scored 21 points of their own which the Eagles had no answer for.

The meltdown seeped into the locker room after the game, when an anonymous teammate called out running back DeMarco Murray, questioning his effort during the game. I’m looking at the 17 the Eagles pitifully scraped together.

Winston threw four first-half touchdowns. 8 of these throws were for first downs (ProFootballTalk.com). In every case, though, rookie quarterback Jameis Winston bailed the Bucs out. There’s more going on here than just improved offensive line play: he’s displaying more explosiveness and agility than he has in years, and he’s even making people miss when he gets hit in the backfield. Martin joins O.J. Simpson and Corey Dillon as the only RBs with two games with 235 yards.

Philadelphia Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins (27) breaks up a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Vincent Jackson (83) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, November 22, 2015, in Philadelphia.

It’s unlikely that Winston could have played so well without the support of his lead back. The Bucs’ previous last winning streak was during Kelly’s first year in the NFL. They will now have to pay the piper, as Martin is 2nd in the National Football League in rushing yards, only behind Adrian Peterson. Statistically speaking, Sanchez has not been a bad option for the Eagles.

“It’s up to all of us”, Graham said. It took that long to travel 80 yards because the Bucs had to overcome five offensive penalties along the way. “We overcame adversity. When guys are confident and playing good, it’s hard to stop them”. Lavonte David returned an interception 20 yards for a TD to cap the scoring. They registered one sack and made no interceptions.

“We’ve got to get that straightened out”, he added.

The Eagles as recently as three seasons ago ran the same system, in which the defensive ends in a 4-3 front line up way to the outside of the tackles or tight ends on passing downs and the defensive tackles line up between the guards and tackles, before firing defensive line coach Jim Washburn midway through. Between the winless Sixers (nothing new), the hapless Flyers (worst record in the Eastern Conference) and the free-falling Phillies (worst record in baseball last season), Chip Kelly’s 4-6 Eagles look like New England Patriots by comparison. They didn’t just lose on Sunday.

Hats off to Dirk Koetter, who has been a play-calling genius this season. “It’s just another day that I was blessed with”, Winston said.

Martin had 177 yards in the first half, including runs of 84 and 58 yards.

“I’m done with the updates”, Kelly said. It’s also over 40 more than the Buccaneers have produced this season. Yes, he had a few great catches along with a TD but the attention that he draws is unmeasurable.

Winston has unquestionably kicked his game into a higher gear since the team’s 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, leading the team to a 4-2 record in the weeks since, while averaging a quarterback rating of 70.9. They have filled in nicely due to injuries and cemented their role on the offense.