Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Players to watch vs. Buccaneers in Week 2

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 06: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons is unable to make a reception in the end zone as he is defended by Ronald Darby #21 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 6, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2. Ronald Darby

Eagles starting cornerback Ronald Darby is coming into Week 2 looking to forget about his matchup with Julio Jones the previous week. Only for Darby, things won’t be much easier as he faces off against another one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, Mike Evans.

Last week Darby drew the almost impossible task of guarding Jones. Jones was able to haul in 10 receptions for 169 yards on the night, not all of them with Darby defending him. Even though those are the type of numbers we come to expect from Jones, it isn’t what Darby and the Eagles secondary were hoping for.

Darby did have some positives from this game that ultimately helped the Eagles win. He was able to keep Jones out of the end zone. It seemed like every series the Falcons had the ball they were able to move down the field on the back of Julio Jones. But by the time they were in the redzone, he was nowhere to be found. That has a good amount to do with the Falcons play calling, but it also has a lot to do with the Eagles defense.

The was never more evident than on the final play of the game when the Falcons had the football on the Eagles 5-yard line with one second remaining. The Falcons tried to take advantage of the one-on-one coverage that Jones had against Darby. Matt Ryan threw a high pass to Jones, but it was well defended by Darby. Jones was able to secure the catch, but Darby was able to bring him down out of bounds forcing an incompletion and a win for the Eagles.

This week, Darby will have to contend with another Pro-Bowler in Evans. Evans is coming off a monster performance last week against the Saints where he went off for seven receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.

The Bucs will try to be a balanced offense by mixing up the pass and run, but the true stars on the team are in the receiving corps. So, this will be a big week for Darby. If he is successful in limiting Evans and keeping him out of the end zone the way he did against Jones, the Eagles will have a great shot at starting the season 2-0.

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