Eagles could expose Jamel Dean and three other chinks in the Buccaneers' armor

Here are four areas where the Eagles can focus their attack to deliver a win in Week 2.
Jamel Dean, Philadelphia Eagles schedule
Jamel Dean, Philadelphia Eagles schedule / Kevin Sabitus/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

The Philadelphia Eagles tackle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. Yeah... We know you know that. That's dominated discussions. So has the weather. We have listened to so many breakdowns and have discussed so many ourselves that we are blue in the face.

Everyone has their theory on how this one will play out. We believe the Birds should earn another road victory.

No team is perfect, and the Bucs have a few chinks in their armor. Here are four areas where Philly can focus their attack. Let's discuss intriguing subplots and a few stats that could influence the strategy.

Jamel Dean has given up 155 passing yards over the Bucs' past two games.

Jamel Dean has given up 155 passing yards over the Bucs' two most recent games. That's 75 in Week 2 versus the Detroit Lions and 80 more versus the Denver Broncos. He leads Tampa in both solo and total tackles, but that might be because the ball comes his way so much.

The Eagles are banged up at wide receiver. Still, on every passing play, Jalen Hurts may want to, at minimum, glance in Dean's direction.

He doesn't usually travel. He's normally on one side of the field, so he should be pretty easy to find.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive front gave up just under five yards per carry in Week 3.

We hate the idea of overworking Saquon Barkley, but this is one of those games where he might go off. The Bucs are allowing 137.7 rushing yards per game.

That includes 4.9 rush yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Saquon has averaged 8.6 yards per carry thanks in part to that 65-yarder in the 4th quarter versus the Saints.

So, if the plan is to get him carries and keep him fresh long-term, this is one of those games where Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley can spare him by taking a couple of totes.

We're certain Saquon will take the majority of the snaps, but Shipley and Kenny G could pay dividends here.

55 of Chris Godwin's 92 pass snaps so far this season have been taken in the slot.

Godwin has lined up in the slot 59.8% of the time so far this season. That's 92 snaps in total. That's 55 in the slot position, and 37 where he was split out wide. He has been targeted 24 times.

He has hauled in 21 receptions, and he has reached the end zone three times. Pro Football Focus doesn't credit him with any drops, but if he does line up in the slot, he'd be Avonte Maddox's responsibility, and Avonte has been up and down this season.

This matchup could go a long way in deciding how the game goes.

Baker Mayfield has been sacked 13 times.

One of the best cures for fixing an ailing Eagles pass rush is playing a team struggling with pass protection. The Bucs are going the wrong way. They gave up a sack in Week 1, five more in Week 2, and 7 in Week 3.

That's good news!

Philly has four total sacks on the season. As bad as that sounds, the Bucs have been worse. They have notched two in three games. That ranks them last among the 32 NFL teams.

That may be factoring in to Baker Mayfield throwing a reception in each of Tampa's past two games. Here's where Philly gets Bryce Huff some confidence, maybe.

Read more Eagles news

manual