It was the battle of two undefeated teams as the Philadelphia Eagles hit the road to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Monday Night Football matchup.
The Eagles would come out on top, pushing through the Bucs for a 25-11 victory. Their offense shined, highlighting D’Andre Swift as he had his second straight game over 100 yards.
Eagles’ QB Feeling Under the Weather
In what could be their best performance so far this season, the Eagles did it all even with quarterback Jalen Hurts feeling under the weather.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hurts had flu-like symptoms hit him right before the game. Hurts’ night was sort of up and down, but he finished 23 of 27 passing for 277 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Jalen Hurts also recorded his 29th rushing touchdown of his career, meaning he has now scored the most running TDs that any signal caller has in their first 50 NFL games.
Breed of one@FirstrustBank | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/g8lqnWCzAA
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 26, 2023
The Eagles defense got a pair of takeaways, along with 201 rushing yards from the offense. They would strike first in the game with a 36-yard field goal by Jake Elliott. Olamide Zaccheaus caught his first touchdown as an Eagle on a 34-yard pass by Hurts, Elliott added the extra point bringing the Birds to a 10-3 lead.
ON THE MONEY TO @LlamaDay 🎯#PHIvsTB | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/UyAf6ScssR
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 26, 2023
Reed Blankenship would pick off Mayfield to give the first turnover of the season for Tampa’s offense. Then while the Eagles’ offense was off and running, Hurts throws an interception after he fails to connect with Swift on a drive. But just two plays later, Jalen Carter would get the ball loos and James Bradberry recovered the ball, putting the Eagles in a good field position.
To end the half, Jake Elliott hit a 38-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Hurts was going for the score on fourth down. The 13-yard play was led by Swift, who rushed for 43 yards on the opening drive. The Eagles were now up 20-3. Hurts threw his second interception of the game at the Buccaneers’ one-yard line, but Nicholas Morrow would take down Rachaad White in the end zone for the two-point score.
Elliott would record a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give a 25-3 lead to the Eagles.
Buccaneers Hit a Challenge
It seemed fine and dandy coming into Week 3’s play, seeing as the Buccaneers were undefeated, but going against a Philadelphia offense was another thing coming.
Philadelphia out-gained Tampa 472-172 on offense, and the Eagles’ defense held Tampa Bay to 174 total yards. Coming into tonight, the Buccaneers were the only NFL team to have not committed a turnover; Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw his first interception with a little over two minutes to go in the second quarter, and they also lost a fumble.
Baker Mayfield found Mike Evans for a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and a two-point conversion to Chris Godwin. That would probably be the only ‘good’ offensive production the Bucs were able to produce tonight.
The Bucs defense had their struggles, allowing 10 conversions on 16 third-down attempts by Philadelphia. Even after racking up six sacks in their first two games, the Bucs defense only got Hurts once and he was able to beat the pressure the Buccaneers were trying to put on him when he ran 10 times for 28 yards and a touchdown.
Mayfield finished his night 15-of-25 on 146 yards, one touchdown, one interception and was sacked twice.
This loss to Philly snapped a four-game winning streak the Bucs had over the Birds, and dropped them to 2-1 on the season. This also marked just the fifth time in Buccaneers history and the first time since 2006 that Tampa Bay gained fewer than 200 yards in a game and surrendered more than 450. Another little tidbit of history, the Eagles and Bucs played the first in NFL history to finish with a 25-11 score.
Up Next for Both Teams:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hit the road to take on the New Orleans Saints, who lost Sunday to the Green Bay Packers, 18-17. The Saints are also 2-1 on the season after their loss, respectively.
The Philadelphia Eagles look to continue their undefeated streak as they welcome the Washington Commanders (2-1) to their home turf. The Eagles are one of three teams to remain undefeated in the NFL. The other two are the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49’ers.
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