TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had found ways to win their first three games in the waning moments, but the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles had other ideas on Sunday. Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt 36 yards for a touchdown on the Bucs’ first drive of the game, and the Eagles forced the Buccaneers’ first two turnovers of the season, taking a 31-25 win.
Philadelphia went to halftime with a 24-6 lead as quarterback Jalen Hurts followed the blocked punt by Cameron Latu with touchdown passes of two and five yards to tight end Dallas Goedert,
“The winner of these games, when we play them, usually starts out fast,” said Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles. “We’ve started out fast in the past; they started out fast today. You are not going to catch a team like that when you start out like that, and credit to them.”
Philadelphia Kicker Jake Elliott added a 39-yard field goal as the Eagles took their commanding halftime lead.
“In the past few weeks, we have had very slow starts, and spotting good teams like those points is not going to work out in the long run,” said linebacker Lavonte David. “We do not want to be scratching and clawing against good teams like that and have to get back in a game because they are a good football team.”
Hurts completed 15 of 16 passes in the first half, and then the Bucs held him to 0 of 8 in the second 30 minutes as Hurts couldn’t find any rhythm in moving the offense in the second half.
Philadelphia had five three-and-outs in the second half as the Buccaneers’ defense took control of the game.
“We really did not have a chance to blitz (in the first half),” said David. “He was taking off – partly on our fault, on our end – as far as being able to rush in and stuff like that. The second half, they did not really give us a chance to blitz, so we just played tight coverage across the board.”
Mayfield and the Long Ball: Trailing 24-6, the Bucs had to get momentum to get back into the contest and potentially see chances for a late fourth quarter win as in the first three games.
Mayfield, who connected on 22 of 40 passes for 289 yards, hit Emeka Egbuka with a 77-yard touchdown pass with 9:51 to play in the third quarter. Then, he found Bucky Irving on a 72-yard catch-and-run to cut Philly’s lead to 31-20 with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.
“(Philadelphia safety) Reed Blankenship was diving for it, so whatever you want to say – distraction drill – he focused through the catch and obviously extending it for the touchdown,” said Mayfield on Egbuka’s focus throughout the play.
Two drives later, he hit Irving on a double move as Irving ran a 10-yard out and sprinted up the left sideline, and caught the 72-yard touchdown pass. Irving accelerated with the football as Jihaad Campbell dived and missed him on his sprint.
“Irving knew he had an edge rusher – outside linebacker – on him, and he did a great job catching that ball and extending it for a touchdown as well,” said Mayfield.
Irving finished with five catches for 102 yards, following his team-leading 63 yards rushing. Egbuka finished with four catches for 101 yards.
McLaughlin’s Extreme Boots: Kicker Chase McLaughlin tied a Buccaneers record with five field goals, including the walk-off, in last Sunday’s 29-27 win over the New York Jets.
McLaughlin nailed a 65-yard field goal just before halftime to cut the deficit to 24-6 at the break.
“I saw some of our guys turning around and holding up their arms,” explained McLaughlin. “But, I really just trust the snap and the hold – Evan [Deckers] and Riley [Dixon] have done a great job all season, so I knew the snap and hold were going to be there, so just execute.”
McLaughlin’s effort now sits as the longest outdoor field goal in NFL history, while it is one yard off the NFL record 66-yard field goal by former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker in 2021.
Jalen Hurts Bucs in First Half: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was reminiscent of an NBA point guard in the first half as he dominated the game with his rhythm and consistency in the passing game.
Hurts connected on 15 of 16 passes for 130 yards by halftime while carrying the ball four times for 42 yards.
“Regardless of where you are, when you’re this early in the season you’re still searching to try and elevate and play to a standard and play to a standard of execution and so great opportunity in front of us as a team to continue to build, continue to grow, have a desire to learn and support the collective of what we do,” said Hurts.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley put the game away in the third quarter with his six-yard run that gave Philly a 31-13 lead with 3:28 to play.