Eagles’ third-down defense failed against Buccaneers

In reality, they’re more like the New England Patriots practice squad.

For most of the season, the Eagles have been viewed as a dysfunctional team struggling to find the balance between scheme and players’ strengths. The Bucs accumulated 521 yards and 25 first downs.

Murray totaled 91 total yards in the blowout loss, but it was an ugly performance all around for the Eagles, who missed at least a dozen tackles as Bucs RB Doug Martin ran for 235 yards.

Winston threw four of his five TD passes as the Bucs accumulated 355 yards and a 28-14 lead. The quarterbacks are bad. Sanchez has thrown an interception in six straight games.

Tampa Bay rushed for 283 yards against Philadelphia which set another team record. But what really stands out is how much he has helped transform the Bucs.

NOTES: Eagles TE Zach Ertz suffered a concussion…. The only problem is that they’re worse than their record indicates, having been blown out at home by the better-than-their-record-indicates Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, Bridgewater, who went five picks after Smith at No. 32 overall, had the Vikings sitting atop the NFC Central Division at 7-2 heading into a showdown against the Packers on Sunday. They cashed in when Winston connected with tight end Cameron Brate on an 8-yard TD pass that made it 35-14 with 5:13 left in the third quarter. His touchdown pass to Charles Sims late in the second quarter could have been an interception, for instance, much more easily than the effort it took to make it a touchdown. Averaging five yards per carry, Martin ranks second in rushing behind the great Adrian Peterson.

“We got a whooping”, Davis said. The first half of the game saw the Eagles put together an 86-yard drive over seven plays that saw Josh Huff catch and run a touchdown into the end zone. The Eagles also had their 12-man penalty on the possession, which provided a free first down. The Bucs had the ball to start the half, and they maintained possession for almost 10 minutes. That was the longest drive for the Buccaneers in terms of plays since a 15-play touchdown drive at Atlanta past year on September 18.

A former mayor of Philadelphia and governor of Pennsylvania, Rendell now has a pundit role on Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia, chiming in on the station’s postgame coverage of the Eagles.

“That’s just two very competitive guys in Darren and Mark”, Kelly said, “and [special teams coordinator] Dave [Fipp] patched it up”.

What does the Eagles’ defense have to do to get better on third downs? By that point, there were few fans left in the stadium to even express disappointment.

Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, subbing for injured starter Sam Bradford, completed 26 of 41 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions, including one that was returned by linebacker Lavonte David 20 yards for the Bucs’ final touchdown.

If they lose on Thanksgiving, things won’t get any easier for the Eagles (4-6).

The Eagles weren’t exactly brimming with confidence Monday as they began preparing to play the Lions on Thursday in Detroit.

Kelly said he’s not planning any lineup changes because of the short week of practice, nor has he lost faith in defensive coordinator Bill Davis, despite the Eagles allowing an opposing rusher to top 100 yards for the third time in four games after not allowing any in the previous 18 games.