The Philadelphia Eagles continue to roll. Using clever trickery, dominant special teams, and late defensive heroics, the reigning Super Bowl champions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-25 on Sunday to improve to 4-0 and extend their remarkable 20-win streak in 21 games.
The highlight of the day came courtesy of a creative twist on the Eagles’ signature short-yardage play. On a third-and-1, instead of the usual quarterback sneak, Jalen Hurts handed the ball to Saquon Barkley, who ran untouched into the end zone on a fake “tush push” for a 6-yard touchdown, giving Philadelphia a 31-13 lead in the third quarter.
“I just wanted to keep defenses guessing,” Hurts said after the game. “We’ve run the sneak so many times. Today we showed a little something different.”
Special teams also played a crucial role early. Cameron Brown returned a blocked punt 35 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead just minutes into the game. A short time later, Hurts hit Dallas Goedert on a pair of shovel passes—one underhanded for 2 yards and another for 5—to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 21-3 by the second quarter.
Despite injuries limiting him in practice, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield rallied his team with two spectacular deep touchdown passes. The first, a 77-yard strike to Emeka Egbuka, marked the longest catch by a rookie in Tampa Bay’s 50-year history. Mayfield followed that with a 72-yard touchdown to Bucky Irving, bringing the Bucs back into contention in the third quarter.
Tampa Bay kicker Chase McLaughlin also made history with a 65-yard field goal on the final play of the first half—the longest field goal in NFL history in an outdoor stadium.
However, the Eagles’ defense and clock management sealed the win. After Mayfield’s interception inside Philadelphia’s 11-yard line, the Bucs had one final opportunity at the Eagles’ 40 with less than two minutes left. But Moro Ojomo sacked Mayfield, and a fourth-and-9 attempt gained just two yards. The game ended when Eagles punter Braden Mann ran out of bounds for a safety.
The win keeps Philadelphia’s only loss over the past 365 days as last December against Washington, a game in which Hurts left early with a concussion. The victory also snapped Mayfield’s streak of leading the Bucs to game-winning scores in the final two minutes, which he had done in each of Tampa Bay’s first three games this season.
Tampa Bay returned several key players, with All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and standout wide receiver Chris Godwin making their season debuts. Godwin caught three passes for 26 yards but could not swing the game.
Hurts struggled in the second half, going 0-for-8 and finishing with minus-1 yard of offense, but his early contributions and the Eagles’ trick plays were more than enough to secure the win.
Eagles: Host Denver next Sunday. Buccaneers: Visit Seattle next Sunday.
