The Buccaneers’ personnel shuffle continued on offense, most notably with the 2025 debuts for LT Tristan Wirfs and WR Chris Godwin. With Wirfs back in the lineup at his customary spot, Graham Barton was able to return to center and Ben Bredeson slid back to left guard. Godwin started the game and finished with three catches for 26 yards. However, the Buccaneers were without top receiver Mike Evans for the first time after he suffered a hamstring injury late in the Week Three win over the New York Jets, which likely contributed to the slow start on offense. The Bucs’ surge in the second half, however, allowed them to win the overall yardage battle over Philadelphia, 376 to 200.
Mayfield finished the game with 289 yards on 22-of-40 passing, with the two long touchdowns and one interception, his first of the season. Both Egbuka and Irving topped 100 receiving yards, with Egbuka continuing the red-hot start to his rookie season with four catches for 101 yards and a score. However, he was targeted 10 times, as was Godwin, as the Eagles got strong coverage efforts from second-year cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who combined for seven passes defensed, five by Mitchell. Irving also ran for 63 yards to finish with 165 yards from scrimmage.
“Emeka did a hell of a job on a play-action keeper, just his concentration to make the catch,” said Mayfield. “[Reed] Blankenship was diving for it – whatever you want to say, ‘distraction drill’ – he focused through the catch and then obviously extending it for a touchdown. Bucky’s touchdown, [it was] really an unbelievable job of pass protection by those guys, holding up for quite a while there, and he turned it upfield. He had an edge rusher, a linebacker, on him and he did a great job catching that ball and extending it for a touchdown, as well. Our guys are fight. Lavonte [David] hit on it postgame, and I couldn’t have said it better myself: This group is too damn good to start slow, and until we take accountability for that…it should piss us off. Even though it’s Week Four, this should piss us off. We’ve talked about starting fast, playing better ball and we did not do that today.”
DL Vita Vea produced the Bucs’ only two sacks of Hurts, who was able to escape pressure and run for 62 yards on nine carries. The Bucs held Eagles RB Saquon Barkley to just 43 yards and 2.3 yards per carry and held a 12th straight opposing team to below 100 rushing yards, though mostly on a technicality because P Braden Mann’s intentional safety at the end of the game was scored as a run for a loss of 34 yards. S Tykee Smith led the Bucs’ defense with nine tackles and two passes defensed and LB SirVocea Dennis added eight stops and a tackle for loss.
The Bucs had the ball first but had to start at their own 20 after the Eagles’ kickoff bounced in the landing zone and split the return man to go into the end zone for a touchback. The drive started off well, however, with an eight-yard catch by rookie WR Tez Johnson – the first of his career – and a 15-yard run over left tackle by Irving. After an incompletion in Godwin’s direction, Irving got five more up the middle to set up third-and-five. Mayfield tried to throw a quick sideline pass to Egbuka but CB Quinyon Mitchell broke it up. The punt attempt turned disastrous, as Latu rejected the kick and Brown took it back for the game’s first points.
Tampa Bay’s second drive started with a seven-yard completion to Godwin but Mayfield’s next two passes in Egbuka’s direction produced just one completion and one yard. Dixon got his second punt off and it was fair caught at the Eagles’ 27.
The Eagles’ first play from scrimmage was a flare pass to Barkley that found him wide open for a 12-yard gain. A similar play to the opposite side gained just two before OLB Haason Reddick shut it down. CB Jamel Dean provided good coverage on a deep shot to WR A.J. Brown and caused an incompletion, but the Eagles had the right call on for a third-down blitz and Hurts got the ball out quickly to WR DeVonta Smith just past the sticks. RB A.J. Dillon barreled up the middle for 11 yards to the Bucs’ 39 and TE Dallas Goedert ran an out for eight yards. Hurts scrambled right on second down and found a lot of green grass as he got all the way down to the Bucs’ two-yard line. The Eagles lined up in a jumbo formation but instead of sneaking the ball, Hurts quickly shoveled it right to Goedert, who ran it in for a 14-0 Eagles lead.
Tampa Bay’s next drive started at its own 28 after a short return by Sean Tucker. Irving bounced a first-down carry out to the right but couldn’t get around the corner as Mitchell tripped him up for a gain of just two. Mayfield dumped an outlet pass to Irving, who eluded a tackle attempt by CB Kelee Ringo and got a first down at the 38. However, a sweep right on first down was met by a gang of Eagle defenders as White was dropped for a loss of one. RB Rachaad White got four yards on a short pass on second down and 15 yards were tacked on the end due to a taunting flag on CB Cooper DeJean. The Bucs tried some trickery with a flea-flicker but it didn’t work as it was nearly intercepted by DeJean. It was, in fact, originally ruled an interception but replay assist overturned it and a personal foul call on OLB Jalyx Hunt gave the Bucs’ 15 yards to the Eagles’ 29. Irving broke several tackles to get eight yards around left end but his second-down run to the right got only one. White came in on third-and-one and powered straight up the middle for five yards and a first down. A run and a screen for Irving accounted for zero net yards. On third-and-10, Mayfield juked out a free rusher but lost control of the ball and had to fall on it for a Zack Baun sack and a loss of nine. Chase McLaughlin came in to boot a 42-yard on the final play of the first quarter.
Barkley fought through tacklers for seven yards on first down of the Eagles’ next drive, which opened at their 30. He slipped going left, however, bringing up third-and-five. Philadelphia went right back to Barkley on third down but Reddick blew up an attempted tunnel screen to the right and the Eagles sent out their punt unit. Kameron Johnson was stopped on his return at the Bucs’ 16.
A swing pass to White only got two yards on first down thanks to a good tackle by S Reed Blankenship, but Mayfield scrambled right on second down and directed Egbuka to come back toward him so he could hit him with an 18-yard sideline strike. Three plays later, the Bucs faced a third-and-seven at their 39. Mayfield was chased into a desperation downfield heave that Godwin couldn’t quite corral. Dixon hit the resulting punt off the side of his foot and it only went 18 yards before going out of bounds, though a holding call on the return team pushed the starting line back to the Philly 33.
Hurts started the resulting drive by throwing down the middle to Goedert for a gain of 22 into Bucs territory, which was followed by a 16-yard grab for fellow TE Grant Calcaterra. Reddick flushed Hurts out of the pocket with a deft spin move two plays later but the quarterback was able to escape for a two-yard scramble to make it third-and-six. Hurts converted the third down by scrambling left and throwing a dart down the seam to Smith for a gain of 20 to the eight. The Eagles then went back to the shovel play, with Goedert scoring this time going up the middle for eight yards. That pushed the Eagles’ lead to 21-3 with six minutes left in the first half.
An end-around to WR Sterling Shepard worked for six yards but DeJean broke up a quick out pass intended for Egbuka. Mayfield’s third-down pass was batted away at the line, leading to another punt. Dixon booted it 52 yards to make the Eagles start their next drive at their 25.
Barkley made a jump-cut to find a seam for seven yards on first down, and a short pass out to the right to WR John Metchie got just enough for a first down. Two plays later, Hurts once again got out of a collapsing pocket, this time running straight up the middle for a gain of nine to the Bucs’ 49. A seven-yard catch by Metchie brought on the two-minute warning. After the break, CB Jacob Parrish dropped Brown for a loss of two to bring up third-and-five, but Hurts beat the blitz again with a pass over the middle to Brown to the Bucs’ 35. Barkley caught a short pass and spun out of a tackle to get the ball down to the 20. Antoine Winfield Jr. sniffed out a flare pass to Barkley and dropped him for a loss of five and the Bucs called a timeout with 1:10 remaining in the half. Reddick chased down Hurts from behind on second down to keep him to a gain of two, and Tampa Bay’s second timeout came with 1:04 left. Hurts handed it back to Barkley on third-and-long but he got just two and the last timeout stopped the clock at 1:01 as the Eagles sent out their field goal unit. Jake Elliott nailed it from 39 yards out to increase the Eagles’ lead to 24-3.