TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers insist they aren’t listening to “noise” outdoors their locker rooms.
The unbeaten NFC rivals meet in prime time Monday night time, every sporting 2-0 information which have spawned questions on life like expectations for the season.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have been much less dominant than many felt they’d be coming off a Tremendous Bowl look final winter. The Bucs have been higher than anticipated with much-traveled Baker Mayfield following Tom Brady at quarterback.
“Pay attention, are we going to be enjoying the identical soccer we performed on Feb. 12 final 12 months proper now? No, we’re not. No person is,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni mentioned. “We’re on this climb. We’re beginning again from the start.”
Philadelphia held off New England on the street and survived a house take a look at in opposition to Minnesota the previous two weeks.
With Mayfield enjoying turnover-free ball, the Bucs defeated the Vikings on the street after which handed the struggling Bears their twelfth consecutive loss final week.
“The factor we did greatest final 12 months was take it someday at a time, one sport at a time, all the things. Little bits at a time,” Sirianni mentioned. “It’s a tough mindset to have since you need to have the expectations. … And, it’s not essentially the expectations of us. It’s expectations of the surface world.”
The “outdoors” chatter concerning the Bucs within the aftermath of Brady’s retirement has largely painted an image of gloom and doom for the season.
Mayfield is together with his fourth group in two years and coming off a season during which he misplaced eight of 10 begins with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
The No. 1 total choose from the 2018 draft is accustomed to being second-guessed. He mentioned the Bucs didn’t enable unfavourable prognostications to trouble them within the offseason, so there’s no have to hearken to what’s being mentioned now that they’ve gained two video games.
“That’s been the narrative, however we’ve identified the entire time what we have now on this locker room and the group that we’re attempting to construct, the place we’re attempting to move,” Mayfield mentioned. “The essential half now is just not letting the surface noise have an effect on us within the constructing. We didn’t let it have an effect on us earlier than, why let it do it now?”
Sirianni mentioned the Eagles, who misplaced twice (together with postseason) to the Brady-led Bucs two seasons in the past, are merely attempting to enhance week to week.
“We perceive everyone goes to have opinions, and we simply must concentrate on ourselves,” the coach added. ”We’ve to concentrate on getting higher on daily basis. It’s actually as boring and monotonous as that. Simply put your head down, go to work, block out noise when you’re anyone that will get affected by that.”
The Bucs, in the meantime, embrace the problem of going through the defending NFC champions. Coach Todd Bowles, although, stopped in need of calling it a litmus take a look at for his group.
“We have a look at each week like that. The truth that they’re 2-0 and went to the Tremendous Bowl doesn’t trouble us. We’re attempting to go 3-0,” Bowles mentioned.
“There’s going to be challenges each week for us. They’re going to be larger because the weeks go on,” the Bucs coach added. “We’re trying to get higher as a group, irrespective of who we’re enjoying.”
RIVALRY
For groups which have by no means been paired in the identical division, the Eagles and Bucs have developed fairly a rivalry.
Tampa Bay leads the all-time sequence 11-10, together with a 3-2 edge within the postseason. In the latest matchup, Brady led the Bucs to a 31-15 win in a NFC wild-card sport at house in January 2022. Three months earlier, Tampa Bay gained a prime-time, regular-season matchup 28-22 in Philadelphia.
MEMORIES
Eagles followers most likely greatest keep in mind Corridor of Famer Ronde Barber for clinching Tampa Bay’s win over Philadelphia within the 2002 NFC championship sport with a 92-yard interception return for a landing, sending the Bucs to the Tremendous Bowl for the primary time.
Tampa Bay misplaced in Philadelphia within the first spherical of the playoffs every of the earlier two seasons.
Barber, the fourth member of that group to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, will obtain his Corridor of Fame Ring of Excellence throughout a halftime ceremony Monday night time.
RUN EAGLES RUN
The Eagles have the NFL’s No. 2 ranked speeding offense, averaging 178 yards per sport. Hurts ran for 2 TDs and threw for a 3rd in opposition to the Vikings, whereas D’Andre Swift completed with a career-high 175 speeding on 28 carries.
“We’re going to journey the new hand. Do I feel it’s sustainable? Shoot, his physique is able to go,” Sirianni mentioned of Swift’s workload. “I don’t ever need to put an expectation on anyone. If he’s acquired the new hand on Monday night time, we’ll preserve rolling with him.”
For the report, the Bucs are permitting 52 yards per sport speeding, second-fewest within the NFL. The Eagles are No. 1, yielding 51 a sport.
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