On the road again … the Eagles are in Tampa to play the Buccaneers in a battle of 2-1 teams and the game has a lot of great angles to consider: Tampa Bay ended the Eagles' 2023 season … both teams have to overcome some significant injuries … the quarterbacks both played at Oklahoma (OK, nobody really cares about that one), and, finally, the Bucs' strength defensively is something the Eagles addressed and improved against in a lot of ways in the offseason.

This is a big spot for an Eagles team that would love to get to 3-1 and hit the bye week on a high and heal up and come back roaring for the second segment of the regular season. With that, some storylines …

1. Tampa Bay is all about pressure defense. How do the Eagles handle it?

Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles is one of the best in the business at creating pressure and timing his blitzes and taking offenses out of sync. The Eagles know this all too well and that's why they feel they are in a prepared situation with Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore and quarterback Jalen Hurts on the same page and Hurts performing well against the blitz this season.

Still, Moore knows that Bowles will show some looks on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium that he hasn't shown previously.

"Todd is always going to have his different flavors. He's going to play us, there may be some stuff that falls back on that, and there may be some new components that he'll pull out and try to stress you in different ways because he knows you'll be anticipating those," Moore said. "He does an excellent job. When I was at other places, we've played him multiple times and every game seems to be a different flavor. It's not necessarily whether he won or lost, it's going to be a different flavor and different challenge each and every week. We have to do a good job of having our answers and understanding our tools and the adjustments that we may or may not need to make."

Let the chess match begin.

2. Injuries are a factor for both teams

Boy, are they ever. Tampa Bay won't have standout safety Antoine Winfield Jr. or defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and they have some other key players who are battling injuries. The Eagles, of course, are without wide receiver DeVonta Smith and both wide receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) and right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion) are questionable.

Philadelphia last week showed its depth along the offensive line when Johnson and Mekhi Becton were injured during the win over New Orleans and Fred Johnson and Tyler Steen stepped in and played very, very well. Parris Campbell and Jahan Dotson played extensively at wide receiver and helped in the win. Kelee Ringo replaced Darius Slay at cornerback and did a nice job.

It will be more of the same this week. Depth is critical. The Eagles have to create some offense without Smith and potentially Brown, who hasn't played since the opener in Brazil. What does Moore do here? It's another great challenge for a master strategist in offensive thinking.

3. Philadelphia's secondary will be tested big time

Tampa Bay wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are two of the best and both Slay and rookie Quinyon Mitchell have to be on point for every play. Tampa Bay struggled in last Sunday's loss to Denver as the Broncos took an early lead and then turned Tampa Bay into a one-dimensional offense. Quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered seven quarterback sacks and has been sacked 12 times in the last two games. Obviously, a big performance on the front end by the Eagles would certainly help on the back end against such talented pass catchers.

Watching Mitchell develop so quickly has been exciting and his work with the coaches and the cornerbacks in the room – with Slay leading the way – is an example of bringing a young player along the right way. If he lines up against Evans, it will challenge his physicality and technique against a player who has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last 10 seasons.

4. Running game vs running game

Saquon Barkley leads the NFL with 351 rushing yards and the Eagles have a big, strong offensive line and they've been committed to staying with the running game to the tune of averaging 167.3 rushing yards per game, third highest in the league. Tampa Bay averages 91 rushing yards per game, ranking 26th in the NFL.

Which team can establish the ground game? It's a key in every game and it is something to watch early on Sunday.

5. The weekly turnover battle reminder

This is something the Eagles know must improve: They are -4 in turnover ratio and they have said that that number is not sustainable to winning big this season. Ball security is huge against an aggressive Tampa Bay defense.

Philadelphia hasn't taken the football away as much as it wants, but there have been some timely takeaways, including last week's Reed Blankenship interception that ended the Saints' last possession and sealed the Eagles' road win.

6. Winning the red zone wins the game?

Philadelphia has scored touchdowns on 42.86 percent of its possessions in the red zone and, coincidentally, Tampa Bay's defense has allowed touchdowns in the red zone at that very same percentage. The Eagles rank tied for fourth in the NFL in red zone defense, 30 percent, and you understand that one stop here, one conversion there is often the difference in so many games that go down to the wire.