The 3-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the defending Super Bowl champions in Week Four when the 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles visit Raymond James Stadium for the weekend's only matchup of unbeaten teams. A year ago, the Eagles also visited Tampa in Week Four and left with a 33-16 loss, but they have won 19 of their 20 games since and are coming off a thrilling victory against another top NFC contender in the Los Angeles Rams. To find out how to watch, listen and livestream the game, click here.
The Buccaneers' multiple injuries on offense significantly affected the experts' pick this week; one analyst specifically cited the new absence of wide receiver Mike Evans as what pushed him from picking the Bucs to siding with the Eagles. The Buccaneers' string of comeback wins was also a deciding factor, in multiple manners. For instance, one analyst picked the Eagles and described the Buccaneers as the "luckiest team" in the NFL, while another who sided with the home team simply wrote, "Do you believe in Baker?"
Tom Blair of NFL.com explained that he picked the Eagles against the Bucs a year ago and lost, then realized he failed to take into consideration the difference between how healthy the two rosters were. He wrote that he wouldn't make that mistake again, which led him to pick Philadelphia again this year:
"It pained me to do so -- typically, I will make as many mental leaps as necessary to pick on the side of Baker Mayfield. There is one gaping chasm I can't bring myself to try jumping, though: the absence of multiple load-bearing members of his supporting cast. Mayfield's worked some magic in each of the Bucs' wins so far, but beating Vic Fangio, Jalen Carter and the rest of the Eagles' defense without Luke Goedeke, Cody Mauch and Mike Evans would be some real CGI-enhanced Now You See Me-type stuff, even with Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin potentially coming back and the Emeka Egbuka connection looking like a sure thing."
The Buccaneers are 3.0-point underdogs at home and the majority of analysts agree that the Eagles are likely to prevail. Here's what some of them are predicting will occur on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium:
NFL.com – Four out of five experts side with the Eagles, but all predict very close scores
ESPN.com – 11 NFL analysts assemble, and seven go with Philadelphia
CBSSports.com – Pete Prisco predicts yet another Baker Mayfield late-game drive to win it
USA Today – Picking against the spread, four of six analysts give the points and take the Eagles
Bleacher Report – Philly gets the nod from five of seven experts
Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio and Chris Simms uncharacteristically agree on the Bucs, both taking Philly
Sports Illustrated – SI bucks the trend, as five of eight analysts side with Tampa Bay
Sporting News – The Eagles are the pick but with bets hedged against another Mayfield comeback
