The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0 after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Final score: 31 to 25.

Well, on one hand, the Birds got a win against a team that’s clearly had their number since the Jalen Hurts/Nick Sirianni began. That’s good!

The Eagles deserve a lot of credit for jumping out to a 21-point lead in this game. Hurts and the offense were really cooking in the first half.

The second half, however, was a different story. The Eagles gained just 23 yards on offense in the second half. That’s unacceptable.

The offense was ultimately bailed out by a defense that gave up some explosive plays for touchdowns but also came up with some huge takeaways and stops.

Once again, this team has much to work on. It’s unclear just how good they are. But the fact remains that they simply do not lose. They’re undefeated through a pretty tough stretch to start the 2025 season.

Next up for the Eagles: a home game against the Denver Broncos.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to defer to put the Bucs up on offense first. Jake Elliott’s opening kickoff bounced in the landing zone and out of the end zone to put Tampa at their own 20-yard line instead of the normal touchback at the 35-yard line. Stealing a page out of Joshua Karty’s book from last week. Smart! Facing 3rd-and-5 after picking up one first down, Baker Mayfield’s pass to Emeka Egbuka was incomplete with Quinyon Mitchell playing sticky coverage. Quality start from Vic Fangio’s unit. And then Sydney Brown recovered a punt blocked by special teams stud Cameron Latu for a touchdown! Latu almost blocked two punts in Kansas City in Week 2; he finally got home this time around. EAGLES 7, BUCCANEERS 0.

• The Bucs took over at their own 25-yard line. Mitchell had good coverage on a drop by Egbuka. Facing 3rd-and-3, Mayfield’s completion only gained one yard. Three-and-out! Certainly a better start to this game than the Eagles had in Tampa last year.

• The Eagles’ offense took over for the first time at their own 27-yard line. Todd Bowles immediately brought the blitz but Jalen Hurts dumped it off to Saquon Barkley for an easy first down catch-and-run. Wow, a blitz beater! Facing 3rd-and-8 on their next set of downs, it looked like the play clock hit zero but there was no flag and Hurts hit DeVonta Smith at the marker on a slant for another first down. A.J. Dillon took his first carry since Week 2 for 11 yards and another first down. Hurts took off scrambling against a blitz (with Vita Vea unsuccessfully spying him) for a 28-yard gain. Facing goal-to-go, Hurts tossed the ball forward to Dallas Goedert on a nifty little play for what turned out to be a pretty easy touchdown! Strong start for the offense to match strong starts from defense and special teams.

• The Bucs took over at their own 28-yard line. Kelee Ringo missed a chance to make an open field tackle on Bucky Irving by getting stiff-armed to allow a first down. Ringo failed to make another tackle on Irving but slowed the running back down enough to allow his teammates to tackle the Bucs RB for a loss. Cooper DeJean was flagged for taunting by stepping over the player he tackled and looking down at him. So dumb that that’s a penalty now but that’s how the refs are calling it this year, so, just can’t do it. One play later, DeJean picked Mayfield off on a flea flicker! But replay showed the ball hit the ground and there were penalty flags on the ground. After the play, a scrum broke out with Mayfield talking trash to Mitchell and Jalyx Hunt got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Pretty dumb to give the Bucs 30 yards in penalties on back-to-back plays. Facing 3rd-and-1, Irving picked up a first down on the ground. Facing 3rd-and-10, a blitzing Zack Baun pressured Mayfield into a fumble that he recovered. Baun was credited with the sack. The Bucs settled for a 42-yard field goal on a 12-play, 48-yard drive that was majorly assisted by 30 yards of Eagles penalties.

SECOND QUARTER

• A slipping Tank Bigsby took the Bucs’ first kickoff to the 30-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5 after Barkley slipped on a run for a loss, old friend Haason Reddick was involved in Barkley being tackled on a screen short of the marker. Assist to Dallas Goedert, who accidentally tackled Barkley as well.
• The Bucs took over at their own 16-yard line after a 52-yard Braden Mann punt. Facing 3rd-and-7, Mayfield took a deep shot to Chris Godwin Jr. but Mitchell — who else — once again had tight coverage to help force an incompletion, though the ball was still catchable. Bucs punter Riley Dixon totally shanked a punt that traveled just 18 yards but a questionable holding penalty on Parry Nickerson effectively made it 28 yards. Still pretty bad, but some damage mitigated.

• The Eagles took over at their own 43-yard line. Hurts made a great throw up the seam to Goedert in a tight window for a first down into Bucs territory. Goedert got banged up on the play. Hurts then hit a wide open crossing Grant Calcaterra for another first down. QB in total control. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts scrambled to his left and hit DeVonta for a first down with the WR taking a big shot after the catch (but no penalty). Hurts then hit Goedert, who re-entered the game, with a shovel pass for another touchdown! Simple but effective for the three-possession lead. EAGLES 21, BUCCANEERS 3.

• A long kick return by the Bucs was negated by a holding penalty to put the offense back at their own 20-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-4 after DeJean broke up a pass (to loud COOOOOOP chants from Eagles fans in the Bucs’ stadium), Mayfield’s pass was deflected by Moro Ojomo and knocked down by the QB to prevent a pick. Nearly a turnover other. Instead, a three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 25-yard line. They slowly but surely moved into Bucs territory to bring up the two-minute warning. A.J. Brown’s first catch of the day went for a loss on a play where Tyler Steen got hurt to force the Eagles to burn their first timeout. Matt Pryor entered the game at right guard. Facing 3rd-and-5, the Bucs brought the blitz but Hurts to Brown was complete even though the ball was slightly behind the wide receiver. Big first down. Hurts throwing to Barkley in the quick game allowed the running back to force Lavonte David (!) to miss a tackle and pick up a first down. Then Hurts completed a pass to Barkley for a five-yard loss. Reddick tackled Hurts from behind for a short Eagles gain and the Bucs called their second timeout with 1:04 left. Facing 3rd-and-13, the Eagles went coward’s draw (booooooo) to pick up two yards and make the Bucs take their final timeout. Jake Elliott hit the 39-yard field goal attempt. EAGLES 24, BUCCANEERS 3.

• Cameron Latu made the special teams tackle to force the Bucs to take over at their own 23-yard line with 0:53 on the clock and zero timeouts to work with. Jihaad Campbell blew up a swing pass to Bucky Irving but the loss was negated by Jalen Carter being flagged for making contact with Mayfield’s head. Irving got banged up on the play. Facing 3rd-and-4 after a spike with 0:08 on the clock, Mayfield’s pass went out of bounds. The Bucs attempted a 65-yard field goal (!) … and the kick was good. Wow. Just one yard shy of tying the NFL record. Shades of Matt Bryant’s 62-yard game winner back in 2006, though obviously less crushing in this moment. EAGLES 24, BUCCANEERS 6.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Eagles took over at their own 32-yard line to begin the second half. With Steen back in at right guard, Barkley was immediately tackled for a loss. Steen then allowed a sack on Hurts. Facing 3rd-and-22, the Eagles went COWARD’S DRAW yet again. It’s getting pretty sickening.

• The Bucs had a 46-yard punt return that seemed like it was going to get called back for a holding penalty … but then the flagged was picked up. OK, then? Why was the flag thrown in the first place? The Bucs took over at the plus 40-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-3, Mayfield’s throw to Egbuka at the marker was broken up by Cooooooper DeJean. Facing 4th-and-3, Todd Bowles kept the offense on the field … and a scrambling Mayfield was chased down by Jordan Davis and had his pass broken up by Kelee Ringo! The young CB really needed that.

• The Eagles took over at their own 33-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-3 after a deep shot to Brown was out of bounds, Hurts’ third down throw was just barely deflected for an incompletion. Three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 23-yard line. Mayfield immediately hit Egbuka for a 77-yard touchdown pass with what looked like some confusion in coverage on the back end. Reed Blankenship just barely missed breaking the pass up … as did Andrew Mukuba. Wild that that got completed. Still very much a ball game with 9:51 to play in the third quarter. EAGLES 24, BUCCANEERS 13.

• Nice kick return by Will Shipley allowed the offense to take over at their own 40-yard line. Hurts took off running on a keeper and the Bucs were originally flagged for a hit to the head but it was picked up. Facing 3rd-and-8, Hurts got sacked. Third straight three-and-out. Bucs with all the momentum.
• The Bucs took over at their own 22-yard line. Jihaad Campbell punched the ball out of Bucky Irving’s control for a Kelee Ringo recovery! The play went under review … and the call was confirmed. Correct decision. There was no evidence to say that was 100% NOT a fumble. Big-time takeaway by the defense to stop the Bucs’ momentum.

• The Eagles took over at the plus 25-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts took off running for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-inches, the Eagles went FAKE Tush Push that turned into a carry for Barkley wiiiiiide open to the end zone! Great call by the coaching staff there. EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 13.

• The Bucs took over at their own 14-yard line after a holding penalty on their kick return. Mitchell got away with a fistful of jersey on what should’ve been a penalty on a Mayfield incompletion. Then a scrambling Mayfield found Irving for a 72-yard touchdown with Campbell trailing and somehow no one else around to tackle the running back. So weird to see the Eagles giving up huge plays on defense. The broadcast showed Vic Fangio looking very upset after that play, understandably so. Simply can’t let the Bucs score THAT quickly; giving up points slowly is an entirely different story. To his credit, though, Baker was balling … with having all day to throw. EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 20.

• The Eagles took over at their own 35-yard line. The Eagles picked up a first down with an illegal hands to the face penalty on the Bucs. Facing 3rd-and-7 after Hurts’ deep throw to Brown was out of bounds and incomplete, Cam Jurgens had a bad snap on a play where the offense was out of sorts anyway and flagged for an illegal shift (penalty declined). Five plays, -5 yards, punt. Really poor response from an offense that turned into the first half offense from the Rams’ game.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Bucs took over at their own 31-yard line. Joshua Uche was flagged for roughing the passer on a Bucs completion. Patrick Johnson had a pass breakup in coverage but he was called for pass interference (late flag). The Bucs got knocked back by a holding penalty. Mitchell got away with another jersey grab on a Bucs deep shot that went incomplete. Facing 3rd-and-12, Mayfield’s pass short of the sticks was incomplete. Chase McLaughlin then hit a 58-yard field goal. One possession game. EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 23.
• Needing a big drive, the Eagles’ offense took over at their own 23-yard line. Hurts overthrew Brown and then nearly threw a pick while targeting him short for an incompletion. Facing 3rd-and-10, Hurts targeted Brown short of the sticks and the pass was broken up. Truly pathetic and terrible drive by the offense in that spot. Getting Brown involved is typically a winning idea but the Bucs were clearly all over it there.

• The Bucs took over at the plus 47-yard line after a 27-yard return by Kameron Johnson, who proved troublesome for the Eagles’ punt coverage. Mitchell forced Godwin Jr. out to prevent a Mayfield completion in bounds for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-5, Ringo got a fistful of jersey and was flagged to give the Bucs a first down. The Bucs slowly but surely moved just outside of the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-9 after Mitchell broke up a potential touchdown pass to Egbuka, Mayfield hit Godwin Jr. over the middle for a first down. A scrambling Mayfield had a pass slightly tipped by Blankenship and picked off by Campbell in the end zone! WOW. Penalty flag was thrown but it was on the Bucs for ineligible player downfield. Whew. Pretty big stop.

• The Eagles took over at their own 20-yard line with a little under eight minutes to play. Facing 3rd-and-2 after two Barkley runs, the Bucs’ blitz forced Hurts into an incompletion. Why not run it there again and maybe try to set up Tush Push?! Or just Tush Push it twice? Instead, three-and-out and another punt.

• The Bucs took over at their own 22-yard line with 6:07 on the clock. Facing 3rd-and-1, Zack Baun got to Egbuka on a jet sweep for no gain. Facing 4th-and-1 from their own 31-yard line, the Bucs kept the offense on the field and JUST got a first down. Ringo missed yet another tackle to help allow an 18-yard Irving run. Facing 3rd-and-6 after Carter tipped a Mayfield pass for an incompletion, Mayfield somehow escaped a sack in the pocket and ran for a first down. Unreal. With the Eagles sending five rusher to the quarterback, Moro Ojomo got to Mayfield with Jalen Carter drawing two blockers. Facing 3rd-and-23 with 1:45 to play, the Bucs went with a dump off completion to set up fourth down. Facing 4th-and-10, Mayfield completed a pass short of the sticks and the ball was oddly fumbled out of bounds. Game!

• The Eagles brought the offense on to run out the clock. The Eagles got to 4th-and-6 with 0:06 on the clock and Braden Mann ran out of the Eagles’ own end zone to run out the clock for an intentional game-ending safety. Smart. EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 25.

FINAL SCORE: EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 25.

EAGLES LINEUP NOTES

• Kelee Ringo started at cornerback with both Adoree’ Jackson and Jakorian Bennett out, as expected. Za’Darius Smith started in place of Nolan Smith.
• Matt Pryor played right guard after Tyler Steen got hurt.
• Parry Nickerson was the extra defensive back in dime packages, which the Eagles utilized on the Bucs’ final drive.

EAGLES INJURY NEWS

• Dallas Goedert got banged up in the second quarter. Seemed to be his injured knee that previously prompted him to miss Week 2. He later returned on the same drive.
• Ogbo Okoronkwo (triceps) was ruled out later in the second quarter. His injury left the Eagles with four active edge rushers.
• Tyler Steen went down holding his knee late in the second quarter. He was eventually able to walk off the field on his own power. He was evaluated in the medical tent before limping to the locker room. Steen returned to the game to begin the third quarter.
• Jalen Hurts was a little slow to get up after taking a shot to the neck on a run in the third quarter but remained in the game.
• Lane Johnson (shoulder) was replaced by Fred Johnson at right tackle late in the third quarter. He was ruled questionable to return.
• Jalen Carter (shoulder) was ruled questionable to return in the fourth quarter. Carter re-entered the game after missing some snaps. He then looked banged up again after Jihaad Campbell’s interception but remained in the game.
• Jihaad Campbell left the field late in the fourth quarter.