Tampa Bay has not been kind to the Eagles lately.
The Eagles have made four trips to Tampa during coach Nick Sirianni's tenure and have lost three of them, including two straight. The first defeat came in the NFC wild-card round in January 2022, the second again in the wild-card round two years later in January '24. This past season, Philadelphia sleepwalked its way through the first half of an eventual 33–16 defeat at the hands of the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
But as the saying goes, once is an accident, two times is a coincidence and three times is a pattern. And Sirianni, cognizant of the pattern, purposely planned for the Eagles to leave for Tampa a day earlier than they had in previous matchups.
"Everything we do is to try [to make sure that] our process is right to give ourselves the best chance to win," Sirianni said Wednesday. "If your process is off, then you don’t have as much of a chance. That was part of our process when we studied some things in the offseason with the heat and everything like that.
"Get out there a day earlier to acclimate, one less day off the plane before you play a game."
Playing football at any time of year in Tampa can be difficult, but it's particularly challenging in September, when the heat and humidity can wear on players. The Eagles saw that firsthand during last season's loss to the Buccaneers, in which offensive lineman Cam Jurgens and defensive tackle Jalen Carter both were forced to the locker room due to cramps in the sweltering heat. The temperature is expected to be 90 degrees with a real feel of 103 degrees in Tampa on Sunday.
When asked how he might prepare for the heat during game planning, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said there's not much one can do, adding that it will be up to the players to handle the conditions.
"Well, it is too late to do anything right now for it as far as prepping for it," Fangio said Tuesday. "You don't practice in heat one day and say you're acclimated or take a pill and say you're acclimated. The key will be, I mean, it's a mindset, number one. Number two, we need to not let them have 8, 10, 12 play drives on us."
The Eagles, currently 3.5-point favorites over Tampa Bay, will kick off against the Buccaneers at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles Making Strategic Change to Travel Plans for Week 4 Buccaneers Tilt.