Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Jalen Hurts and the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will be out to buck history when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in a battle of NFL unbeaten teams. The Eagles will be seeking their third 4-0 start in the past four seasons. But Tampa Bay, who can push their record to 4-0 for the first time since 2005, have owned Hurts and the Eagles, winning four of five contests, including playoffs, since 2021.
Hurts said the Eagles, whose special teams units came up big in a come-from-behind victory over the Rams last week, will need to be firing on all cylinders against a Bucs defense that has been particularly effective against them. “You look inward,” Hurts said. “It’s about controlling what you can, being on the same page and executing at a high level,” the reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player said.
Related news
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said whatever his team’s recent success against the Eagles, they aren’t an outfit to be taken lightly. “I mean, they won the Super Bowl,” Bowles said of a Philadelphia team that has won 19 of 20 games since a week-four loss in Tampa last season. “They play with a lot of confidence, they’re skilled at every position on both sides of the football and they understand how to win. That’s huge in this league — if you understand how to win and you expect to win.”
Sunday’s action will kick off with the NFL’s first ever regular-season game in Ireland, where the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers will play at Dublin’s Croke Park. Last week, Minnesota cornerback Isaiah Rodgers forced two fumbles, returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown, and returned an interception 87 yards for a TD in the Vikings’ 48-10 thrashing of Cincinnati. Fans in Ireland will get a glimpse of a future Hall of Famer in Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP.
In Dallas, all eyes will be on Green Bay’s superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons as he returns to face the Cowboys for the first time since they traded him just days before the season opened. “I feel like this is going to be another game for me,” insisted Parsons, who inked a four-year, $186 million contract with the Packers after what turned into a bitter split with the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones. Despite the acrimony, Parsons said he didn’t expect a rough ride from fans in Dallas.
“Dallas loves me,” he said. “I think they’re going to give me a good round of applause. There’s no hard feelings there, at least not for me.” Parsons certainly won’t go easy on his former team, and he believes he has an edge against a Cowboys offensive line that he helped school in training. “I think it gives me an advantage because I know how those guys play,” Parsons said. “I know how they want to play. I know the identity that they want to create. It’s funny because I spent all of training camp helping these guys.”
Superstar quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson square off when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens with both teams off to disappointing 1-2 starts. The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, and San Francisco 49ers all try to improve to 4-0. The Bills host the winless New Orleans Saints, the 49ers host the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Colts host the Los Angeles Rams, and the Chargers visit the 0-3 New York Giants, who will start 22-year-old rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in a bid to turn their fortunes around.
© 2024 AFP
