Philadelphia Eagles receive surprise advantage with Jameis Winston suspension

Due to a suspension, it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles won’t have to worry about Jameis Winston in Week 2 when facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Last week, there was speculation surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles, and how they may end up catching a break in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season by not having to face Jameis Winston when traveling to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Thursday, the Eagles received confirmation in regards to Winston after the Buccaneers quarterback was officially suspended for the first three games of 2018 for an incident from March 2016 involving a female Uber driver.

The pressure was already on Tampa Bay to bounce back after winning just five games, and Winston now missing those three games provides the team with another tough challenge.

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Assuming nothing happens injury wise before Week 2, it looks like Philadelphia will have to worry about Ryan Fitzpatrick as Winston’s replacement, which in a way is a gift for Jim Schwartz‘s defense.

Tampa Bay may have struggled for most of last season, but with weapons like DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans to work with, Winston has always been the kind of quarterback that can explode for a big game on any given weekend.

Obviously, Fitzpatrick is an experienced quarterback that shouldn’t be taken lightly since the argument can be made as well that he has the same weapons as Winston to work with. But when seeing how he’s looked at times in limited action over the last couple of years, the argument can also be made that the Eagles don’t really have a reason to worry too much.

With that Atlanta Falcons coming to down for the home opener the week before, Philadelphia knew this first road matchup in Tampa Bay was going to be an early test since it’s expected to be quite the hostile environment.

At least with Winston forced to miss the game, the defending Super Bowl champions will be at a slight advantage heading into this Week 2 matchup.

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Since Philadelphia will be experiencing a new feeling of playing with targets on their backs as reigning champions, every win will be extremely important during their attempt to repeat. Assuming the suspension stays, there’s every reason to believe the Eagles will be able to earn this win on the road against the Buccaneers since Winston will be out of the lineup.