Why the Eagles Needed a ‘punch in the Mouth' Vs. Buccaneers

The Eagles lost a game that mattered for the first time in 2018 Sunday, falling 27-21 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (see Roob's observations). It hurt.

But according to Eagles legend and NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst Seth Joyner, the Eagles needed a wake-up call, a rude reminder that it's not going to be easy to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Joyner, a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019, will be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame along with Clyde Simmons during halftime of next Sunday's game against the Colts. 

"They needed a punch in the mouth, they needed a kick in the behind, a kick in the gut to kind of wake them up," Joyner said on Eagles Postgame Live. "I said it Week 1, I said it throughout preseason, they're now in uncharted territory. They don't know what it is to be a Super Bowl champion and come back the following year.

"Every game that they play, every team is going to give them their best. So they can't afford to come out with a ‘B' game. They gotta come out and play an ‘A' game every single week. I would much rather them experience this loss now and have this happen now than, somewhere down the road, have them have to experience this."

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After escaping with a Week 1 win over Atlanta despite 11 penalties, a slow start from the offense and five trips to the red zone by the Falcons, the same problems plagued the Eagles against the Bucs, and they couldn't pull off the victory this time. There's no doubt it wasn't their 'A' game, although some of that can be attributed to the offensive weapons they were missing (see story). 

The Eagles also fell in Week 2 last season, losing to the Chiefs by a nearly identical scoreline, 27-20. It's fair to say did they a decent job responding to that loss. 

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