September 26, 2025
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have struggled against Lavonte David and the Bucs.
Here we go again. It's Week 4 and the Eagles are headed to Tampa to take on the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium, which has been a pirate ship of fools for the Eagles lately.
The Eagles have lost their last two games in Tampa by a combined score of 65-25, including last year's 33-16 loss there in Week 4. The Birds have been swashbuckled in three of their last four games against the Bucs, all at Raymond James, and with all three losses by 15 or more points.
This will be the fifth time in four years that the Eagles have traveled to Tampa. They've lost six of their last seven overall against their nemesis from the NFC South going back to 2015.
But ... the Eagles have won 19 of their past 20 games (playoffs included) going into Week 4, including Week 3's 33-26 win over the Rams that kept them unbeaten at 3-0. The Bucs are also undefeated at 3-0, and have pulled out all three wins in their final possession.
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -3.5 | PHI -198 TB +164 | 44.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -3.5 | PHI -190 TB +160 | 44.5 |
| BetRivers | PHI -3.5 | PHI -190 TB +155 | 44.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -3.5 | PHI -190 TB +155 | 44 |
| ESPN BET | PHI -3.5 | PHI -195 TB +165 | 43.5 |
Yes, Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers have given Jalen Hurts and the Eagles all they can handle whenever the Birds have had to travel south to Tampa. But it's also worth noting that the Eagles were without A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson in their matchup with the Bucs last season. They were also without Brown in their embarrassing playoff loss to the Bucs following the 2023 season.
Ever since the Eagles traded for Brown, the Eagles are 44-10 (0.815) when both Brown and DeVonta Smith play (including the playoffs).
| Year | Both play | One guy out | Both guys out |
| 2022 | 16-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 2023 | 11-5 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| 2024 | 14-1 | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| 2025 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| TOTAL | 44-10 | 3-3 | 1-1 |
They are 4-4 when at least one of Brown or Smith is out of the lineup. So there's that.
But also, the Bucs will be without Mike Evans, as well as their starting RG (Cody Mauch) and RT (Luke Goedeke). Unlike in recent matchups, the Bucs have the more impactful losses on the injury front.
Credit the Bucs for getting to 3-0 with an injury-depleted roster, but they have also beaten a trio of teams with a combined record of 1-8, and each of those games has required late-game magic by Baker Mayfield. The Eagles are a far, far better team than anyone they have faced so far. Give me the Eagles, semi-comfortably... 27-16.
It's getting hard to pick against the Eagles, and last week showed exactly why. They can be dormant for 45 minutes and then suddenly kick into a second gear. That's how much talent they have. You almost have to beat them twice.
Obviously, the Bucs seem to be immune to whatever it is the rest of the league has that makes them struggle against the Eagles. But they also seem to catch the Eagles at the right time. Last year's blowout came when the Eagles were still figuring out their defense and were without A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith.
The year before's playoff win came as the Eagles were in the midst of an epic tailspin. The two losses in 2021 – regular season and playoffs – came at the hands of Tom Brady.
This year's Eagles team appears way more prepared to battle the South Florida elements and whatever Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has in store for Jalen Hurts and the offense. And although the Eagles have some injuries, the Bucs are also majorly banged up, without WR Mike Evans and with a reshuffled o-line
I like the Eagles to figure it out this time.
MORE: Eagles-Bucs Week 4 injury report, with analysis
The Eagles will have A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith this time, and seem to expect to have Lane Johnson ready to go, too.
They're better equipped to actually win the Tampa Bay matchup, and yet I still don't feel good about it.
I don't like the Eagles in the Florida heat and humidity, forced to wear their dark jerseys.
I don't like the thought of Kevin Patullo falling back into passive playcalling until the team is backed into a corner – it worked last week, but that's not sustainable.
And I still don't like Jalen Hurts's ability to move quickly and stay upright against Vita Vea in the trenches and Todd Bowles' unrelenting blitz approach.
This is just a matchup I don't like for the Eagles, at this time of year and how they've played so far, and I can't convince myself to think differently.
It'll be close this time. I can at least buy that much, but I don't think they pull it off.
