Eagles’ loss to Bucs was the ‘most one-sided start to a game’ Jason Kelce has seen in a long time

Kelce said he never goes into a game "not expecting the Birds to win.” But he was "nervous" about the Bucs, and it turns out he had reason to be.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is sacked by Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson on Sunday.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

by Gabriela Carroll

Published Oct. 2, 2024, 9:55 a.m. ET

To say the Eagles got off to a bad start in a 33-16 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday would be an understatement. Count Jason Kelce among those shocked at what he was watching.

“That’s the most one-sided start to a game I’ve seen in a long time,” the former Eagles center said on Wednesday’s episode of New Heights.

With A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both injured, the offense struggling out of the gate was not unexpected, but the defense also played poorly after a strong performance in New Orleans.

Early in the second quarter, the Birds had zero yards of offense — and were down 21-0.

“I never go into a game not expecting the Birds to win,” Kelce said. “I always think the Birds are going to perform well and win the game. That being said, I was nervous going into this game. I was nervous because we were missing A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and going up against a coordinator in Todd Bowles who, when you are missing key players, can take away certain parts of the game and make you one-dimensional. That being said, I was not expecting us to play so bad on both sides of the football that early. We had two three-and-outs and before we blinked it was 21-0 to start the [second quarter].”

So, without Brown and Smith, how should the Eagles offense have attacked the game? Kelce said the Bucs’ coverages stymied them on first and second downs, and without Brown and Smith, third-and-long situations were not working.

“If you’re missing A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, you’d better be good on first and second down,” Kelce said. “On first and second down, we had drops, the runs didn’t really hit. … You can’t be in third-and-long against a team like that without your two best players. It’s just going to be dang near impossible.”