Eagles vs. Buccaneers MNF Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Baker Mayfield, DeVonta Smith, Rachaad White, Julio Jones, Dallas Goedert, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, D'Andre Swift

Fantasy football start em, sit em lineups advice for the Eagles vs. Buccaneers on Monday Night Football during Wild Card Weekend (2024). NFL matchups analysis and starts/sits.

The 2023 regular season flew by in a hurry, and the Eagles vs. Buccaneers is the last Wild Card game on this year's postseason slate. Below you can read our Monday Night Football matchups analysis article for the Eagles vs. Buccaneers game to help make any fantasy lineup decisions for single-game DFS contests.

The Eagles represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last season but are stumbling into the postseason this year. Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield is playing the best football of his career in Tampa Bay. Overall, this should be a tight and exciting playoff game.

Read our fantasy football breakdowns for this game -- the recommended starts sits, and matchups we love heading into an exciting game during Wild Card Weekend. Good luck, RotoBallers!

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Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Spread: Eagles -2.5
Implied Total: Eagles (22.75) vs. Buccaneers (20.25)
Pace: Eagles (25th) vs. Buccaneers (14th)
Eagles Off. DVOA: 21.7% Pass (12th), 4.1% Rush (5th)
Buccaneers Off. DVOA: 15.8% Pass (16th), -17.8% Rush (28th)
Eagles Def. DVOA: 21.3% Pass (29th), -5.0% Rush (22nd)
Buccaneers Def. DVOA: 5.1% Pass (14th), -13.7% Rush (8th)
PFF Coverage Grade: Eagles (24th) vs. Buccaneers (22nd)
PFF Rush D Grade: Eagles (4th) vs. Buccaneers (26th)
Offensive EPA/Play: Eagles (7th) vs. Buccaneers (12th)
EPA/Play Allowed: Eagles (29th) vs. Buccaneers (18th)

WEATHER: This game has a chance of rain, but without moderate to high winds, it will have minimal impact on the offenses.

Matchups We Love

Rachaad White (RB, TB)

White has thrived as a receiving back, which we knew from last year is an area he excels. There were questions about the extent of his role after Leonard Fournette departed with hopes that he could be a three-down back. As it turns out, dreams do come true. White handled 336 touches in 2023, second to only Christian McCaffrey. In addition to the massive workload, he frequently ran in touchdowns from the one-yard line and made huge plays for the passing attack. The Eagles, who were once known for their stout run defense, faded immensely during the second half of the year, becoming the sixth-best matchup at the position over the final six weeks. White warrants a spot inside the top five this week.

Mike Evans & Chris Godwin (WR, TB)

Philly may have opened the season strong against the run, but they were never good at defending the pass. They got torched week after week, which is part of why they're traveling to Tampa Bay instead of hosting a game. Evans found the fountain of youth, putting together one of the best seasons of his illustrious career with over 1,200 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns as the WR8 in points per game. Chris Godwin had a stretch where he disappeared, but he rose from the ashes to produce four consecutive productive outings from Weeks 14 to 17. These two are set up well in what has some sneaky upside to turn into a scorefest. Evans lands inside the top 10 with Godwin around the WR15.

Jalen Hurts (QB, PHI)

From an NFL perspective, Hurts has been playing poorly and costing his team the opportunity to win at times. He's become more one-dimensional, relying on his rushing instead of remaining in the pocket or keeping his eyes downfield when he scrambles, which has been more often given their inability to pass protect. For fantasy, the "brotherly shove" is so effective and automatic that you can't fade him too much, especially after running in 15 touchdowns. That offers a baseline that only Josh Allen can compete with among the available quarterbacks in the Wild Card round. It's enough to keep him in the top five, but there's no guarantee he will end up there or even beat the Buccaneers for that matter, especially since he's playing without one of his star wideouts.

DeVonta Smith (WR, PHI)

Smith missed the Week 18 loss to the New York Giants, but he's good to go for Monday night's game, and he'll see extra targets in the absence of A.J. Brown (knee). The Buccaneers surrendered the 10th-most fantasy points per game to wideouts during the regular season and gave up at least 90 receiving yards to 12 players at the position. Smith must step up to keep the Eagles' passing offense alive, so he's a strong target in fantasy playoff leagues.

Dallas Goedert (TE, PHI)

Goedert has been one of the few bright spots during their losing skid, racking up yards and finding the end zone consistently since returning from injury. He's eaten into DeVonta Smith's role just as we saw a year ago. The Buccaneers are an awesome matchup for tight ends, so he joins the other tight ends discussed already as part of the big four -- especially with Brown inactive.

Matchups We Hate

Cade Otton (TE, TB)

Similar to Higbee, who we wrote about above, Otton is buried in the pecking order with three talented players above him. The passing attack doesn't generate enough output to sustain a fourth option, which means he's best to avoid this week as has been the smart move most of the season.

D'Andre Swift (RB, PHI)

Swift was held out of Week 18 with an illness, but it may have been for the best based on how poorly the offense played against the Giants. After shining in his debut as the starter, leading many to believe he would dominate, he slowly but surely ceded work to Hurts and Kenneth Gainwell. Hurts vulturing goal-line carries and Gainwell taking away receptions reduced his upside significantly.

Furthermore, aside from a few contests when they were missing key pieces on defense, the Buccaneers have shut down the opposing rushing attack. Investing in this offense feels risky in general this week, never mind a player whose workload is in question. Swift drops to at least the RB12 with players in that range who you could argue deserve to be above him.

Other Matchups:

Baker Mayfield (QB, TB)

Logically, if all three of his primary weapons are fantastic options, you'd assume Mayfield is as well. However, he's not a lock to come through because he's let us down in spots we didn't think he would such as Week 18 against the Panthers and the first three quarters of Week 17 against the Saints. Plus, he looked hurt during that win. He's certainly capable of challenging some of the players in that QB6-QB10 range this week, but aside from Mason Rudolph, he's the lowest-ranked signal-caller.

Julio Jones (WR, PHI)

Jones scored three touchdowns this year, his most since 2020 when he also had three. With Brown out of action, the former Atlanta Falcons' All-Pro will be elevated to the No. 2 WR role. Although the 34-year-old is well beyond his prime, the matchup is strong, and he's a sneaky option since most fantasy gamers will likely stay away from him.

Notable Injuries

A.J. Brown (knee)
Baker Mayfield (ankle/ribs)

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