From a fan and betting perspective, these staggered-start NFL Monday Night Football doubleheaders have been fantastic, and there's another one on tap in Week 3. We'll look at the early game, which features the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) with a 7:15 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC and the No. 1 broadcasting team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call.
It's the only matchup of 2-0 teams in Week 3 and clearly a better game on paper than Rams-Bengals at 8:15 with Cincinnati's Joe Burrow expected to sit. Enjoy the doubleheader, because there's not another one on Monday until mid-December. Of the last 14 teams to start 3-0, 12 made the playoffs, so tonight's winner will be in good shape. Philadelphia is currently -900 at DraftKings to return to the playoffs and Tampa Bay is still a +115 underdog.
While the Eagles were projected as one of the NFC's top teams again, the Bucs were supposed to fall off a cliff without Tom Brady, but Baker Mayfield might be salvaging his career. The former Heisman winner has a 104.4 passer rating and no turnovers through two games. On third down, he has been the best QB in the NFL with a rating of 132.2 Mayfield, 2-0 for the first time in his career, is completing 87.0% of his passes (20 of 23) on third downs, compared to 60.0% on all others. He averages 8.74 yards per attempt on third downs compared to 6.42 on others. The Bucs' offensive line has allowed only one sack. So far, so good for Tampa Bay under first-year offensive coordinator Dave Canales.
The Bucs never started 3-0 under Brady and are looking to do so for just the fifth time (1979, 1997, 2000, 2005). It's also possibly the biggest home game of the year for the franchise given the opponent and primetime showcase, but also because the team will honor former star safety Ronde Barber at halftime for his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. Barber is easily one of the most popular players in franchise history and will always be remembered by both Bucs and Eagles fans for his 92-yard interception return for a touchdown to help beat Philadelphia in the 2002 NFC Championship Game. That got Tampa Bay to its first-ever Super Bowl, which it won.
We'll take you through every aspect of the Eagles-Bucs Monday night game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.
Who wins Eagles vs. Bucs in the Week 3 Monday Night Football game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the third Monday night matchup of the 2023 season!
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