Eagles avoid a meltdown in Tampa and stay unbeaten by holding off the Buccaneers, 31-25

TAMPA, Fla. — At long last, the Eagles exorcised their demons at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Even though they conceded 19 points in the second half to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Eagles pulled out a 31-25 victory. The Eagles offense did most of the heavy lifting in the first half, scoring 24 points. The win marked just the second Eagles victory in Tampa out of six contests dating back to 2018.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ fourth straight victory to start the season:

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Offense is a tale of two halves but defense squashes the late Buccaneers rally

On Tuesday, Kevin Patullo referred to the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams as “a tale of two halves.” After a listless start for an offense that mustered just 33 net yards in the first half last week, the Eagles surged for 255 net yards in the second, pulling off a come-from-behind victory.

It became a tale of two halves yet again against the Buccaneers, albeit inverted. Jalen Hurts was stellar in the first half, going 15-for-16 for 130 yards and two touchdowns, which were both creatively designed toss plays by Patullo for Dallas Goedert. Hurts also picked up 42 rushing yards on four carries. The Eagles had a 24-6 lead at halftime.

But the game started to slip away from the Eagles in the second half. The Bucs’ defensive front overwhelmed the Eagles’ interior offensive line, as Hurts was sacked twice in the third quarter by defensive tackle Vita Vea. On third-and-7, the final play of the third quarter, Cam Jurgens snapped the ball too high for Hurts. The Eagles quarterback managed to corral the football, but he was tackled far behind the line of scrimmage to force a punt.

In the second half, the Eagles had minus-1 yards of offense. Hurts had zero completions on eight passing attempts. The lone bright spot was Saquon Barkley waltzing into the end zone unblocked for a touchdown on a variation of a Tush Push, taking advantage of the strong field position after Jalyx Hunt forced a fumble by Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving. Barkley’s 6-yard run gave the Eagles a 31-13 advantage.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni’s antics, Tom Brady’s bias, and other highlights from the Eagles-Bucs broadcast

The usual Hurts-A.J. Brown connection wasn’t clicking Sunday. Brown was targeted nine times, but he had just two receptions for 7 yards. After the game, Hurts said that a lack of “execution” held the passing game back in the second half. Still, Hurts was pleased with the win.

“I think being able to come and find a win in a very competitive and tough environment against a really good team, a well-coached team, that’s something you take pride in,” Hurts said. “Again, you always take pride in the things you know you can improve on. The things you see on film when you watch it and say, ‘We can be better here.’ But there’s pride in everything overall.”

After limiting the Buccaneers to just 99 yards of offense in the first half, the Eagles defense struggled after halftime, too, giving up 77- and 72-yard receiving touchdowns in the third quarter, one from rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka and another from Irving. The Bucs’ 14-point surge made it 31-20 going into the fourth quarter.

Egbuka slipped past the Eagles’ safety tandem of Reed Blankenship and Drew Mukuba and hauled in a 77-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to cut the Eagles’ lead to 11 points.

Two drives later, the Eagles’ four-man rush failed to pressure Mayfield, as he had plenty of time to get the ball out to Irving, who extended his route and breezed past Jihaad Campbell in coverage. Mayfield hit Irving in stride down the left sideline as he cruised into the end zone, trimming the Birds’ lead to 31-20.

A bad second half got worse when Bucs kick returner Kameron Johnson returned Braden Mann’s punt 27 yards to the Eagles’ 47-yard line. Later in the drive, Kelee Ringo was called for pass interference against Bucs wide receiver Sterling Shepherd over the middle of the field early in the fourth quarter.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley seeks advice from great running backs as the Eagles build on their ‘attack mindset’

Campbell stopped the bleeding when he picked off an ill-advised Mayfield throw in the end zone. The quarterback was under pressure in the red zone with Jalen Carter diving at his feet, but he opted to loft a pass intended for tight end Cade Otton. But Mayfield’s pass was too far in front of him, allowing Campbell to make the easy snag.

“I’d seen the ball in the air,” Campbell said after the game. “It was one of those things where we know Coach [Nick] Sirianni always talks about just getting to your back shoulder. Just getting to your back. And soon as I caught it, that’s what I tried to do. That’s what happened. I appreciate our D-line, though, just putting pressure on Baker Mayfield. He’s a guy that likes to run around a lot and just throughout the chaos, he just threw it up in the air and it was a pick.”

The Eagles continued to buckle down late in the fourth quarter. Moro Ojomo came up with a critical sack of Mayfield on second-and-long, followed by a pair of Parry Nickerson tackles on back-to-back plays short of the sticks to seal the win.

Since Ben VanSumeren went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 1, the Eagles have leaned on tight end Cameron Latu as their fullback and as a special-teams contributor. Latu, the San Francisco 49ers’ 2023 third-rounder out of Alabama, was signed to the active roster on Wednesday as he was nearly out of practice-squad elevations.

He quickly made an impact, continuing the Eagles’ streak of special-teams blocks following Jordan Davis’ game-sealing field-goal block against the Rams. After the Bucs sputtered on their opening drive of the first half, the 25-year-old Latu beat Bucs running back Sean Tucker off the edge, then blocked Riley Dixon’s punt.

The ball bounced off the grass and into the arms of Sydney Brown, who returned the blocked punt 35 yards for a touchdown to put the Eagles up, 7-0.

Lane Johnson exited the game late in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return to action. Fred Johnson entered in relief at right tackle. The two-time All-Pro right tackle declined to speak to the media in the locker room after the game.