Next for Eagles: Surprising Bucs edge Cowboys
TAMPA, Fla. - When the schedule makers drew up this year's list of NFL games, few probably thought that after nine of them that the Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be on equal footing.
TAMPA, Fla. - When the schedule makers drew up this year's list of NFL games, few probably thought that after nine of them that the Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be on equal footing.
The Eagles were coming off consecutive 10-win seasons with high hopes, while the Bucs went 2-14 and, despite drafting quarterback Jameis Winston from Florida State with the first overall pick, still seemed a distance away from respectability.
Yet when the Bucs visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, both teams will have 4-5 marks after Tampa Bay's comeback, 10-6 win over the luckless Dallas Cowboys Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Considering that the Bucs were 1-8 at this juncture last season, this is clearly a team showing serious progress while also gaining confidence.
"Everybody is more mature [this year], and we're learning how to finish games," said defensive line cornerstone Gerald McCoy.
Imagine if Tampa Bay didn't squander a 24-0 lead during a 31-30 loss to Washington. Since then, the Bucs have won two of three.
"We have a lot of fighters and competitors on this team," said running back Doug Martin, who gained 63 hard-earned yards on 18 carries.
Winston's arrival has done a great deal for the Bucs, but this was a day he wasn't at his best, and the defense picked things up. Led by linebacker Lavonte David, who had 12 tackles, Tampa Bay held Dallas to 216 total yards.
As the score indicates, the Bucs struggled offensively. Yet Winston came through at the end, with a little bit of luck.
Trailing by 6-3 with just over a minute left and facing third and goal from the Dallas 4-yard line, Winston went for it, running toward the end zone and doing one of his patented leaps near the goal line.
Upon liftoff, he lost control of the ball, and Dallas recovered. But Tampa Bay earned a reprieve when the Cowboys' Jeff Heath was called for defensive holding.
When asked about the fumble, Winston refused to acknowledge it.
"I don't know what you are talking about," he said with a sly grin.
Winston then scored on the next play from the 1-yard-line, going in untouched on a naked bootleg with 54 seconds left.
Dallas, coming off last week's 33-27 overtime loss to the Eagles, actually rallied, but on second down from the Tampa Bay 45, Bradley McDougald was running stride for stride with Dez Bryant and intercepted Matt Cassel's pass in the end zone with 14 seconds left. It was quite a 25th birthday present for McDougald.
"I'm going home to celebrate with my family," he said.
With receiver Vincent Jackson missing his third straight game due to a knee injury, so much goes through Mike Evans. The 6-foot-5, 231-pound Evans is especially dangerous on jump balls. He was targeted 13 times and finished with eight receptions for 126 yards.
Winston, who hadn't thrown an interception in his previous four games, completed 22 of 39 for 264 yards and two picks. His passer rating was just 55.9.
Still, this will be a Bucs team that will come to Philadelphia feeling pretty good about itself, especially after last year, when things fell apart in coach Lovie Smith's first season as coach.
Now the Bucs have another goal - to win consecutive games. Tampa Bay hasn't done that since winning three in a row on Nov. 11, 17, and 24 of 2013.
"That is our main focus now," Winston said. "Getting two wins right in a row."
@sjnard