Bucs defeated by Super Bowl champions.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their first game of the season this past Sunday, falling 31-25 to the Philadelphia Eagles at home.
Despite a second-half comeback, the Bucs conceded their first regular season defeat since 23 December 2024.
I barely had time to sit down before the Bucs were already 14-0 down.
A blocked punt on Tampa’s first drive gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead, before they scored another soon after.
Struggled to get going
Defense and offense were poor in the first half, and Baker Mayfield struggled to move the ball. Despite blitzing what seemed like every other play, the defense only got to Jalen Hurts twice.
The Eagles added yet another touchdown and were up 21-3.
Kicker Chase McLaughlin smashed in a 65-yard field goal to end the half, putting the score at 21-6.
His kick is the second longest in NFL history, just one yard short of the record. It was, however, the longest field goal in an outdoor stadium in NFL history.
Second-half comeback attempt
The second half was totally different, as the Bucs held the Eagles to a mere 7 points and 33 yards.
Hurts did not complete a pass in the second half and Saquon Barkley was held to 25 yards rushing.
With the defense coming in clutch, the Bucs’ offense started getting some big plays in too. Mayfield found Emeka Egbuka on a 77-yard touchdown pass, as the rookie hauled in his fourth touchdown of the season.
An unfortunate fumble by Bucky Irving broke the Bucs’ momentum, and allowed the Eagles to score their fourth touchdown of the game on a fake tush-push.
Bucky more than made amends one play later as Baker connected with the young star on a 72-yard rocket for another touchdown for Tampa.
Both Egbuka and Irving went for over 100 yards receiving this game.
After another field goal from McLaughlin, it was a one-score game at 31-23, and the comeback was on.
The Bucs drove down to the Eagles 11-yard line, with a chance to tie it up.
Not to be
Unfortunately, Mayfield chose the wrong time for his first pick of the season, getting intercepted trying to extend a play.
Despite this, the Bucs had one last chance and drove down the field again.
Baker failed to connect with anyone, and the game ended on a safety as the Eagles punter ran out the clock in his end zone.
Despite the late comeback push, the game was over from the beginning when the Bucs were 14-0 down after barely 8 minutes of the game.
I am proud of the team for the comeback, and hopefully we will see more of the second-half Bucs in the coming weeks.
Tampa has some tough matchups coming up, but at 3-1, I am not panicking… yet.
