Eagles Ground the Bucs to Secure Week Four Victory
As the Philadelphia Eagles make their way to Tampa, they have one goal in mind: to keep their winning streak alive. Storming the field and taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have dominated the first two quarters. From the impressive offensive line to the dominating defense, it made a clear point on how the first half was going to play out. As both teams stepped off the field for halftime, the Eagles held an impressive lead of 24-6.
In the first quarter alone, the Eagles stepped out and made huge plays to help them overtake the Buccaneers. Jalen Hurts took total control of the offense, whether that was running different routes or simply spreading the ball along the field to different players. Hurts kept the Buccaneers on their toes. The Eagles’ plays were sufficient and beneficial, completing drives and ensuring touchdowns for the Eagles in the first half. With some incomplete passes made, the Eagles were still able to secure a touchdown off a blocked punt.
The Eagles’ defensive line stopped at nothing, with Sydney Brown recovering a blocked punt from his teammate, Cameron Latu. He swooped up the ball and ran it in for an Eagles touchdown. That was just the beginning of it all. Running the ball down the field, the Eagles were able to make it to the end zone one more time before the end of the first quarter with Hurts throwing a two-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert. Along with Jake Elliott securing both extra points in the first quarter. With one second remaining in the first quarter, the Buccaneers’ kicker, Chase McLaughlin, was able to kick a field goal, giving the Buccaneers three points in the first quarter, next to the Eagles’ 14 points.
With a slow start to the second quarter, the Eagles were still able to showcase their talent. At the six-minute and 15-second mark, Hurts’ pass short middle was complete to Goedert for a five-yard touchdown, along with Elliott’s extra point being good. With the Buccaneers having to punt twice this quarter, they were still able to stop the Eagles from scoring another touchdown in the second quarter. Stopping the Eagles on the 39-yard line, forcing the Eagles to take a field-goal kick. With Elliott’s kick being good, the Eagles took a 24-3 lead, but the Buccaneers weren’t done yet. Just like the first quarter, the Buccaneers stood at four seconds remaining on the clock to snap the ball for a field goal. With McLaughlin’s impressive 65-yard field goal, he put the Buccaneers 24-6 against the Eagles.
Running out of halftime, the Buccaneers came ready to play, and so did the Eagles. With many plays and scores being made by both teams in the third quarter. The Buccaneers’ defensive line was stopping the Eagles at all costs, forcing them to punt the ball multiple times in the third quarter. With the Buccaneers turning it up a notch in the third quarter, they ensured their first touchdown of the game. With Baker Mayfield’s deep right pass being completed by Emeka Egbuka, the Buccaneers scored a 77-yard touchdown, with McLaughlin’s kick being good, setting the Buccaneers at 13 points scoring game. During the middle of the third quarter, Bucky Irving was rushing the ball when Jalyx Hunt forced a fumble with Kelee Ringo recovering the ball on the Buccaneers’ 24. This play set the Eagles up for victory with the offensive line coming out and completing another touchdown in the third quarter, with Saquon Barkley rushing left end for a six-yard touchdown, and Elliott’s kick being good. This put the Eagles with a 31-13 lead with three minutes and 51 seconds remaining. The Buccaneers wanted one more, though, so with two minutes and 22 seconds, Mayfield’s pass deep left was completed by Irving, giving the Buccaneers a touchdown and an extra point being good by McLaughlin, ending the third quarter 31-20.
It came down to the final quarter. With 15 minutes of playing time left in the game, the Buccaneers had some work to do still, but with the Eagles wanting that winning streak to stay alive, they weren’t going to back down either. With the Eagles putting up a strong fight in the fourth quarter, there were still some amazing plays made by both teams. With McLaughlin securing a 58-yard field goal, the Buccaneers were slowly approaching the Eagles. As Mayfield was trying to throw a touchdown pass into the end zone, the Eagles’ linebacker Jihaad Campbell intercepted the ball at the Eagles’ end zone. With many of the plays in the fourth quarter resulting in punts, Braden Mann rushed up the middle for -34 yards, tackled by Kaevon Merriweather at the Eagles’ end zone, resulting in a safety, ending the game with the Eagles winning 31-25.
The Eagles came and did exactly what they wanted to do. Ensuring another win for their franchise. As the winner of this battle will walk away undefeated, both teams played a great game. The Eagles still have a lot of work to do, with so much time remaining in the season. Coming off a Super Bowl win, they have a lot to uphold for themselves and their fans. How will it play out next week when they play against the Broncos in Week Five? Can the streak be continued, or will it end a way they never want it to end?
