Brady & The Buccaneers Kick Off Week 6 in Philly

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) head up north to face the Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field and live coverage will be broadcasted on ESPN 98.1 FM.

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Just four days after dominating Miami in a 28-point victory, Tampa Bay is back in primetime action against Philadelphia. Tom Brady continues to lead the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, racking up 411 yards and five touchdowns against the Dolphins. Brady will likely turn to offensive leaders Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette, who put up impressive numbers against the Dolphins. Evans put up 113 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Miami. Fournette helped lead Tampa Bay to its second consecutive game with over 100 yards on the ground.

The Bucs’ defense is up against a versatile Jalen Hurts, who poses a threat in both the running and passing game. Hurts is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 256 yards. In their upset win over Carolina on Sunday, Hurts completed 22 of 37 passes for 198 yards. The Eagles also have a star in rookie WR DeVonta Smith, who leads the team with 25 receptions for 314 yards.

On the defensive end, the Eagles’ Javon Hargrave has put up career numbers with six sacks. The defensive tackle also has nine quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Cornerback Darius Slay will also be a threat for the Buc’s offense. Slay already has two picks and 16 tackles this season. Brady anticipates that the Philadelphia defense will put up a tough fight on Thursday.

Brady’s Thumb

Bucs fans can breathe a sigh of relief that their Super Bowl Champion quarterback—and his right thumb—are expected to be just fine for Thursday’s game. Brady suffered a minor injury on his throwing hand after banging his thumb against a helmet during Sunday’s game. The incident happened during the second quarter, but Brady persevered to throw three more touchdowns. The veteran QB is no stranger to injury and told reporters that he doesn’t anticipate any problems with his thumb during Tuesday’s press conference.

“Any time you get banged on one of those it could be an issue,” Brady said. “But like I said I think it’s…there’s nothing, no serious injury at all. It’s more of discomfort but I think that should be fine in the next day or two.”

Brady attended this week’s practices and pressers with his right hand taped up, but assured that is was just precautionary and an effort to prevent any further soreness.

Injury Report

The shortened week left little time for injuries to heal for this week’s matchup. For Tampa Bay, Lavonte David (ankle), Rob Gronkowski (ribs) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion) are out for the game after not practicing all week.

For Philly, tackle Lane Johnson (personal reasons) will not compete for the third-straight week. Tight end Dallas Goedert is questionable after being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

We've ruled out three players for Week 6.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 13, 2021