The Eagles and Buccaneers both entered Monday night undefeated, but the Eagles looked like contenders and the Buccaneers looked like pretenders.
Philadelphia’s defense dominated Tampa Bay’s offense, and Eagles running back D’Andre Swift had his second consecutive big game, as the Eagles won 25-11 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
That Eagles defense is outstanding, perhaps even better than last year thanks to the addition of rookie Jalen Carter, who forced a fumble that set up a field goal and generally made life miserable for the Bucs.
Swift has proven to be a smart acquisition by Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman. In an offseason dominated by discussions about how much to pay running backs, Roseman found a bargain in Swift, who makes less than $2 million this year and has gained more than 300 yards in the first three games of the season.
Roseman’s big acquisition last year, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, topped 100 yards receiving, yet another big game for one of the NFL’s big-time players.
The Bucs got a good night from Mike Evans, who had a spectacular leaping one-handed catch in the fourth quarter and finished that same drive with a touchdown catch, but for the most part the Bucs’ offense couldn’t do much. Tampa Bay fell to 2-1 and looks like a team that could contend in the NFC South, but no one should expect the Bucs to make much noise in the playoffs.
The Eagles, however, look like a team that could find itself in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
