Eagles-Bucs Week 4 odds preview: Will the Birds finally break the Tampa curse?

Raymond James Stadium has not been a kind place to the Jalen Hurts era of the Eagles. Will that finally change in Week 4?

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images

Raymond James Stadium has been a cursed place for the Jalen Hurts era of the Eagles.

The Eagles completed an insane comeback over the Rams last weekend to remain undefeated at 3-0, but now they're traveling to their own personal kryptonite known as Raymond James Stadium. 

It's Eagles-Buccaneers in Tampa for Week 4, again, in a matchup that hasn't been kind to the Birds these past few years. 

Rotten injury luck always seems to get them, so has badly-timed lethargic play in the humid Florida heat, and then a Todd Bowles-led blitzing philosophy that has presented a puzzle that Jalen Hurts has struggled to solve.

The Bucs have just been a nightmare matchup for the Eagles, regardless of how good they've been.

Nevertheless, the sportsbooks appear optimistic that this time will be different, favoring the Eagles at around 2.5-3.5 points.

Here's a look at the odds, money lines, and over/under totals for Sunday:

Health will be a major factor to keep an eye for Week 4. 

In last season's 33-16 pummeling from the Bucs, the Eagles didn't have top receivers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, or starting right tackle Lane Johnson due to injury.

It took away a lot of the offense's bite, and put a glaring hole in Hurts' protection as he went on to get sacked six times. 

Right now, Brown and Smith should be good, but Johnson left Sunday's win against the Rams with a neck injury, and right away, the Eagles felt his absence. Matt Pryor got put into a blender by L.A. edge rusher Jared Verse as Johnson's substitute, which left Hurts open for punishment until Fred Johnson was finally put in to plug up the leaks.

Bowles has never hesitated to send Vita Vea, Lavonte David, and the blitz after Hurts in the Eagles' prior matchups against the Bucs, especially with Lane Johnson out. 

It's worked to great success for them so far, so if Johnson ends up sidelined again, the Tampa coach will almost certainly keep throwing the kitchen sink at the Philly offense. 

It's on Hurts and the Eagles to make them stop, finally. 

The Hurts era of the Eagles has lost four of the last five matchups against the Bucs, all in Tampa, and twice in the playoffs between 2021's breakout and 2023's crashout.

It isn't a must-win this Sunday for the Eagles, but it sure would be a sigh of relief – for fans who have resigned themselves to Tampa being an automatic loss, and probably the team itself, too.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-bucs-betting-odds-preview-money-lines-jalen-hurts-baker-mayfield-jalen-carter-vita-vea-nfl-week-4/

Funny how we seem to play them IN Tampa at the beginning of the season. Hmmmm....🙄

There got to be a reason we always play in Tampa.Bye

2 hours ago, FOLES-HURTS-JAWS said:

There got to be a reason we always play in Tampa.Bye

It happens - just scheduling quirks. The Steelers have played 3 of the last 4 games in Philly. Vikings have played 5 of last 6 games in Philly. Niners have played four of the last 5 games in Philly, including the last 3. These scheduling quirks have a way of evening themselves out.