Eagles aren’t a good bet to beat the Buccaneers as they need to start playing better situational football

Coaches often say that it doesn’t matter how much they personally know about the game. What matters is how much their players know.

This proverb is worth keeping in mind when examining the Eagles’ performance against the Panthers.

When it came to play-calling elements, the Eagles players did a very good job of implementing what the coaches wanted to do.

For example, coming into that matchup, Robby Anderson had some of the lowest average separation metrics in the league per Next Gen Stats. This metric measures how much distance there is between a receiver and a defender when a pass attempt arrives, so low numbers here typically indicate that a receiver isn’t adept at getting open.

The Eagles defenders utilized the knowledge that Anderson was not much of a threat on two of the interceptions they made in that contest, while Darius Slay and Steven Nelson adjusted their coverage in ways that showed they didn’t see Anderson as a viable threat while going for interceptions.

This also showed up on the Jalen Hurts zone-read keepers in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers were far too aggressive at collapsing down on the inside zone handoffs and were leaving the “C” gap unmanned. Hurts made them pay for it with one big gain to go along with a touchdown run.

Special teams even got in on this act, as a double stunt against an overmatched Panthers center left T.J. Edwards unaccounted for and led to an easy blocked punt.

» READ MORE: Follow the Eagles-Bucs game as it happens on GameDay Central, with in-game comments from The Inquirer's writers, photos and more

As impressive as the Eagles’ implementation of play-calling elements was, Eagles players also had seven major situational gaffes in this contest.

1. Hurts tried to do a one-handed recovery of the ball in the end zone rather than diving it after the bad snap by Jason Kelce. The play still resulted in a safety, but Hurts’ ill-advised move kept the ball alive in the end zone and nearly gave Carolina a touchdown.

2. Miles Sanders went out of bounds when the Eagles were trying to run the clock down and get Carolina to use its timeouts late in the fourth quarter.

3. Sanders made this same mistake on another time-killing effort two plays later.

4. Alex Singleton was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for diving on DJ Moore after Moore had given himself up on the play. It was a chintzy penalty to be sure, but one that was still easily avoidable.

5. Greg Ward did a two-handed drive block on an offensive pass interference penalty that cost the Eagles a touchdown, when all he needed to do was get in the defender’s way.

6. There was a blown coverage on the touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble when two Eagles defenders went with a Carolina receiver and left Tremble uncovered.

7. Jalen Reagor caught a ball at the first-down marker and then lost that first down in an unwise and unsuccessful attempt to gain more yards by running back behind the first-down marker.

These were not the only situational errors that the Eagles players made, but they do illustrate just how far this coaching staff must go to get the players to master the details that make the difference between teams with winning and losing records in the NFL. It’s the type of thing that shouldn’t be happening with this frequency five weeks into a season, and it could cost this club in a big way against a Tampa Bay squad that can make opponents pay dearly for low-percentage moves and avoidable mistakes.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Bucs predictions: Can Tom Brady and the Buccaneers be contained?

Here is this week’s gambling 10-pack, a section that reviews some of the top gambling, fantasy, and DFS plays for NFL games in Week 6

1. Bench Sanders. He is coming off his second double-digit point game of the season in PPR leagues, but most of his value is in the ground game and the Buccaneers have a dominant rush defense. That latter factor is why Sanders could end up with another single-digit carry volume as he did against Dallas and Kansas City and that makes him bench-bound in most fantasy leagues.

2. Take the Buccaneers -7. Tampa Bay’s offense is on a record-setting pace, as they set a team record with 26 passing first downs against Miami and have the eighth-most passing yards through five games in NFL history. In addition, the Buccaneers posted 40.54 offensive expected points added against Miami, a single-game total that is higher than the season-long total posted in that category by all but 10 NFL teams, one of which is, of course, the Buccaneers. That kind of offensive firepower will be incredibly difficult for the Eagles to keep up with, so take Tampa Bay minus the points.

3. It’s amazing that the Cardinals, the NFL’s only unbeaten team, are 2.5-point underdogs at Cleveland. Arizona has a powerhouse offense and one of the most athletic defenses in the league, while the Browns are one of the most banged-up teams in pro football and just allowed 47 points to the Chargers. Take the Cardinals and the points in this one.

4. Fantasy managers are likely to want to avoid starting the Ravens’ Latavius Murray against the Chargers in Week 6, as Murray has only posted 10+ PPR fantasy points one time this year, but they need to forget about Murray’s struggles and instead note that the Chargers have allowed 186+ rushing yards in three of the past four games. Baltimore has some offensive line injuries to deal with, but they also have one of the best offensive line coaches in the league in Joe D’Alessandris and a highly creative rushing offense, so look for Murray to post a season high in points and to offer RB2/flex value this week.

5. Anderson’s aforementioned issues in getting open are why he has been a non-entity in fantasy football. It’s tough to consider him a full-fledged drop candidate, as it is difficult to replace someone with his target volume, but Anderson is definitely slated for bench duty until he posts at least one solid game.

» READ MORE: Jeffrey Lurie avoided Jon Gruden. The Eagles’ owner had reasons. | Marcus Hayes

6. The Colts’ Marlon Mack displayed tremendous burst in the Monday night game against the Ravens. There are reports that Mack may be on the trading block, with Kansas City potentially being a prime target, so fantasy managers should put in a high priority waiver or free-agency claim for Mack.

7. The Seattle-Pittsburgh line probably didn’t move as much as it should have given Russell Wilson’s injury and how well Pittsburgh played last week. The Steelers are favored to win only by 4.5 points, which means that outside of home field (which usually accounts for 3 points) the public thinks the Steelers are only 1.5 points better than Seattle. The Steelers rushing offense hit on all cylinders against a tough Denver defense last week to the tune of 147 yards. By contrast, the Seahawks have allowed 453+ offensive yards in four straight games and have given up 113+ rushing yards in every contest. Geno Smith had one good drive against a Rams defense playing prevent coverage, but he won’t have the element of surprise in this one, so Pittsburgh should have enough advantages on both sides to tally a win and cover the spread.

8. Two things to keep in mind regarding Kyle Pitts’ breakout game against the Jets are a) Atlanta was missing Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, so Pitts moved up the team’s passing target priority list and b) the Jets came into that game without either of their starting safeties. This isn’t to knock Pitts’ fantasy potential, as the Falcons face an awful Miami defense in Week 7 following their Week 6 bye, but he may have the most unfavorable schedule among tight ends from Week 8 to the end of the season. That might make him a strong sell-high candidate in fantasy football this week or next.

9. Adam Thielen’s fantasy managers are going to have a tough time making decisions on what to do with him over the next few weeks. This week features a matchup for the Vikings against a stout Carolina secondary. Week 7 is a bye, followed by a three-game stretch where he could end up facing the Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs, the Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey, and the Chargers’ Asante Samuel Jr. That is an incredibly stingy coverage slate that may keep Thielen in the single-digit point scoring range he has been in over the past two weeks.

10. Fantasy managers looking for a good stream start D/ST in Week 6 should consider putting a waiver claim in for the Cowboys. Dallas has posted 28 fantasy points over the past three weeks and now faces a New England offense that has scored more than 17 points only two times and has tallied two or more giveaways in four out of five games.