TAMPA, Fla. – A king on a chessboard cannot be captured. In fact, the strategy is to trap the king for the checkmate and the win.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the early checkmate in their 33-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles as they started the second quarter with Baker Mayfield’s one-yard run and a 21-0 lead.
Mayfield was one of several Buccaneers who were kings inside the Raymond James Stadium castle on Sunday. He had one of his best days as a Buccaneer by completing 30 of 47 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
He and his teammates rebounded in a major way in all three phases of the game after the 26-7 home loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
“Obviously, just wanted to get that taste out of our mouth for sure,” said Mayfield. “It started fast because the guys were just locked in. We came out – a ‘hair on fire’ mentality.”
Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans provided the torch that lit Tampa Bay’s fiery approach. The former Oklahoma Sooner targeted Evans 14 times and connected on eight passes for 94 yards, including the 2-yard touchdown toss that gave Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead after their first drive.
Evans became the Buccaneers’ all-time leading scorer on his touchdown, passing former kicker Martin Grammatica with 592 points. Interestingly, he joins San Francisco’s Jerry Rice and former Dallas running back Emmitt Smith as the only non-kickers to lead a franchise in points scored.
“Sometimes you take it for granted – the career Mike has had and continues to have,” Mayfield analyzed. “We don’t take it for granted, but that’s why we tried to get him started earlier today, get him going, get one of our best players the ball early on so he catches fire, and he did that. He’s a special player.”
Evans laid the foundation on the first play of the game for Tampa Bay to master the domination of the afternoon. After catching only three passes for 17 yards last week, he and Mayfield connected on a curl pattern for seven yards on Sunday’s first play.
Tampa Bay outgained Philadelphia, 445-227, and the Bucs’ defense overmatched the Eagles’ offensive line in sacking quarterback Jalen Hurts six times. It was the fewest yards allowed since 2021 when Philly could only post 213 total yards in a 28-22 victory.
Nesting Grounds: Philadelphia did not have its two starting playmakers at wide receiver as AJ Brown and Devonte Smith were both out with injuries. This made for a tough afternoon for Hurts, even in the shotgun formation, as the Eagles offensive line was overmatched by the Buccaneers’ front-seven.
It cut away the flow of the offense for running back Saquon Barkley, who tallied only 84 yards on 10 carries, including a 59-yard run off of the right side.
Philly didn’t tally a first down until just 6:30 remained in the first half. Hurts gained six yards on a rush off the left end on 3rd-and-6. He then ended the 14-play drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Parris Campbell in the back of the end zone.
Hurts pointed to the Eagles need to show consistent efficiency and the ability to protect the football much better. Philadelphia hasn’t scored on the first drive of any of its four games as Hurts discussed the 24-0 deficit in the first half.
“You go and say, ‘I’m going to attack a team like this,” noted Hurts. “But ultimately, you have to go out to play ball and have a feel for the game and what they’re (opponent) doing. I think we all have to be better with that, starting with me.”
Hurts cut the Buccaneers’ lead to 24-14 to begin the second half as he scored on a one-yard run after Barkley’s 59-yard rush off of the right side.
David and Vea Stimulate Defensive Output: Another pair of Bucs’ kings on Sunday’s red and black chessboard were linebacker Lavonte David and nose tackle Vita Vea.
Vea, returning from injury, sacked Hurts on the second drive which helped to build doubt in the Eagles’ minds. Bowles noted how Vea’s presence helped to manifest the defensive presence.
“It was huge because we were getting pressure on the outside in the past, but we weren’t getting a push up the middle and the quarterbacks were stepping up,” commented Bowles. “To have him being able to push the middle and still being able to get pressure from the outside was huge for us.”
David posted two sacks as the second gave Tampa Bay an upper hand that it wouldn’t lose.
“You go and say, ‘I am going to attack a team like this.’ But ultimately, you have to go out there to play ball and have a feel of the game and what they’re doing,” said David. “I think we all have to be better with that, starting with me.
Five plays after Barkley caught a 27-yard play-action pass from Hurts, David burst through the Eagles offensive line and sacked the Eagles’ QB. As he forced the fumble, David stopped Philadelphia from potentially scoring a touchdown and cutting this to a one-score game.
“When my number was called on that certain play, I was able to blitz and get an opportunity to get one-on-one with a running back, which is a linebacker’s dream,” commented David.
