By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Earlier today, the Eagles traded Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals for cornerback Tay Cowan and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick.  The trade ends the three-time Pro Bowler’s eight-year career in Philadelphia. 

An emotional Ertz met with the media and talked about his time with the Eagles and his love for Philadelphia.

Watch:

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles entered the half down big against the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

The Eagles showed some fight late, but down 21 and with continued stalls on offense, the hole they dug garnering a single score and countless three and outs in the first half proved too much.

Had Sirianni and Hurts managed to put literally any single drive beyond the first one in the first half, this would have been a real ball game. Instead, the pair continued to show extended stretches of total incompetence that doomed the team against a superior team they otherwise had a chance to beat.

Unfortunately, it looks like this is a trend fans should expect for the rest of this season with only a few wins making their way in when the team decides to put together a full-game effort.

By Matthew Ryan, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

The 4-1 Buccaneers visit the 2-3 Eagles in week six of the regular season. The Birds are coming off a comeback win over the Panthers, while the Bucs demolished the Dolphins by four touchdowns last week. Tampa Bay outplayed Philadelphia throughout the first half and enter the break with a 21-7 lead. Here's what we saw in the first 30 minutes of action:

WR Quez Watkins

Once again, the Eagles offense had a quiet first half, scoring just seven points. The only drive where the offense consistently moved the ball was their first, and Watkins’ impressive first-down catch on 3rd-and-12 kept it going. That 23-yard reception was Watkins’ only catch of the first half.

S Anthony Harris

After being questionable to return, Harris came up with the biggest play of his Eagles career, notching his first interception with the Birds. Harris picked off Tom Brady late in the first half, but the Eagles couldn’t put up points on the ensuing drive.

QB Jalen Hurts

Coming off of a big fourth-quarter where he led the Eagles to victory over the Panthers, Hurts’ first half looked more like the first three-quarters last week, which is not a good thing. Hurts missed some throws, notably multiple potential third-down conversions and an interception in the second quarter. Hurts finished the half just 5/14 for 54 yards with an interception and touchdown, adding 20 rushing yards. If the Eagles want to come away from this game with a .500 record, Hurts has to step his game up.

QB Tom Brady

In his second regular season game against the Eagles since they defeated his Patriots in Super Bowl 52, Brady had a solid first two quarters. Brady went 20/26 for 186 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The seven-time Super Bowl champ led a Tampa Bay offense that was comfortable for most of the first half and scored 21 points.

By Connor Donald, Sports Talk Philly Contributing Writer

History:

The Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have met 19 times. The Eagles own a 10-9 record against them, winning the last two straight. Both teams looked very different when they last met in 2018.

What to know about the Bucs?

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Lincoln Financial Field will host the reigning Super Bowl Champions as they take on the Eagles this Tuesday.

Not appearing on the report this week is tight end Dallas Goedert, who is likely to be a major loss for the Eagles.

Goedert is vaccinated, but landed on the COVID list Tuesday. To get out of the protocol, he'd need two negative tests 24 hours apart, which makes his only chance of playing if they got a negative test today and are able to do so again in time before the rosters are set tomorrow.

Injury Report

Eagles

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Whatever is going on with Lane Johnson must be serious.  Johnson was a surprise scratch before the Chiefs game due to “personal issues” and the former All-Pro hasn’t been with the team since.  Johnson traveled back to Oklahoma and had to be coaxed into coming back to Philadelphia by Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro. 

The Eagles media, which knows EVERYTHING, has been mum on the subject.  Even Crossing Broad, which is known for breaking salacious stories, has stayed quite despite having sources knowledgeable of the situation.

Multiple reporters pointed out that head coach Nick Sirianni added Johnson’s No. 65 to his visor.  Sirianni also had Brandon Graham’s No. 55 and Isaac Seumalo’s No. 56 on the brim. 

Lane Johnson’s number has been added to Nick Sirianni’s visor. Johnson missed the game because of a personal matter. pic.twitter.com/cUTqh3KCoI

— Chris Franklin (@cfranklinnews) October 10, 2021

Was it a symbol that Johnson is done for the year? Not exactly according to the head coach:

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles entered the half after another putrid offensive showing.

The only plays called in the first half seemed to be screens with the occasional play resulting in Hurts rolling to the right to extend the play for a throw out of bounds.

Following the half, brief deviations from that offensive plan allowed the offense to see some success while the defense buckled down and allowed just three points to clinch the win.

By Matthew Ryan, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

The 1-3 Eagles visit the 3-1 Panthers in week five of the regular season. The Panthers are coming off their first loss of the season, whereas the Eagles have come up short in three straight games. The Eagles were outplayed in every aspect of the game, and penalties remain an issue as they were called for four, totaling 50 yards. Nick Sirianni’s squad goes into the half trailing 15-6 and will kick off to start the third quarter. Here's what we saw in the first 30 minutes of action:

K Jake Elliott

This section could very well be left blank, but Elliott is deserving. The fifth-year kicker is responsible for all of the Eagles’ points thus far, making a 30-yard field goal early and a 58-yarder to close out the first half.

CB Darius Slay Jr.

Slay was one of the bright spots for the Birds in an underwhelming first half. In the first quarter, Slay came up with his first interception of the season and returned it to the Carolina 10-yard line, resulting in a drive that led to an Eagles field goal.

Eagles’ Offense

The Eagles' offense struggled in the first half, picking up just five first downs and 88 total yards. The Birds only ran the ball five times for 14 yards. The Eagles' defense has given the offense chances, most notably setting up a first-and-goal from Slay’s aforementioned interception, but Jalen Hurts and Co. have not been able to deliver.

RB Chuba Hubbard

In his second career start, Hubbard gashed the Eagles in the first 30 minutes, rushing for 57 yards on 13 carries, adding 19 receiving yards. The rookie broke lose in the first quarter for 26 yards in a drive that ended with the Panthers’ first touchdown of the game.

By Connor Donald, Sports Talk Philly Contributing Writer

History:

The Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers have met 12 times. The Eagles lead the series 7-5, but lost the most recent meeting in 2018, 21-17.

What to know about the Panthers:

Maybe the curse of Adam Gase is a true and real thing. Sam Darnold is looking good in Carolina. Offensively it looks like the Panthers will be without star running back Christian McCaffrey again. Overall the offense is fringe top ten across most categories, but they certainly have weapons to make things tough on a struggling Eagles defense. What is most worrisome? The Panther love to control time of possession, currently the sixth best in time of possession. The Eagles offense has struggled in that department and having the defense out longer then it has to be isn't a great combination.

The Panthers passing defense is seeing the second fewest attempts against and giving up the second fewest total yards. They have allowed a completion percentage of 58.7% by opposing quarterbacks. As much as Sirianni loves to throw the football and ignore Miles Sanders, there may need to be a shift in how he runs the offense.

Overall the Panthers defense is fairly strong, despite the rushing defense being exploited last week. They are allowing the 2nd shortest time of possession for opposing offenses and the second lowest amount of plays run per drive. Which also equates to top five defense in points and yards allowed per drive. The Eagles offense will have to bring their A game with a mix of run and pass plus effectiveness.