On September 28th, the 3-0 Eagles squared off against the also undefeated 3-0 Buccaneers at 1:00. The game was very exciting and nerve-wracking for Eagles fans, as they barely scaped by Tampa Bay with a score of 31-25.
The game started out near perfect for Philly. In the first quarter, the Eagles defense stopped Tampa Bay, and forced them to punt. Our special teams continued their hot streak of last week, and they blocked the punt and Sydney Brown returned it for a touchdown. Just like that, the Eagles went up 7-0. After another great defensive possession, the offense came out strong and drove all the way down the field. Jalen Hurts flipped a pass to Dallas Goedert for another touchdown, and Philly went up 14-0. By the end of the first quarter, the Buccaneers managed to make a field goal to get on the board.
In the second quarter, the Eagles scored another touchdown, same way as before, a pass to Dallas Goedert. Eagles went up 21-3, and added a field goal as well to go up 24-3. Then at the end of the half, Tampa Bay’s kicker, Chase McLaughlin, managed to hit a 65 yard field goal, which is just a yard shy of the record. This made the score 24-6 at halftime.
Eagles fans were fully ecstatic about the score. After having a terrible first half last week against the Rams and needing to comeback in order to win, fans were way more euphoric. However, if you know the Eagles, then you know there always has to be some stress involved. Mrs. Miller, a teacher here at BASH said, “Part of me was confident, but the other part of me knows the Eagles, so I was also very nervous.”
It all started in the third quarter, where Baker Mayfield threw a 77 yard touchdown pass to standout rookie Wide Receiver Emeka Egbuka. This made the score 24-13, but fans weren’t that worried just yet. The Eagles managed to score another touchdown later in the third, where they faked a Tush Push and handed it off to Saquon Barkley. The score was now 31-13. It still seemed like a blowout was imminent, until a minute later, where Mayfield now threw a 72 yard touchdown pass to Running Back Bucky Irving. The score was 31-20 to start the fourth quarter.
Panic started to settle in for Eagles fans, as our offense started struggling massively. They couldn’t get anything going on offense, and it felt like the first half of last week all over again. Tampa Bay hit another field goal to reduce the lead to only one score. 31-23 was the score for a majority of the fourth quarter, as both teams started to get stuck. The Buccaneers started to lead a drive into Eagles territory late in the fourth, and they managed to make it inside our red zone. Thankfully, Baker Mayfield was pressured into throwing an interception in the endzone to rookie first round pick Jihaad Campbell. After running the clock out, the Eagles managed to hold on to the lead and won the game. Punter Braden Mann ran out the back of the endzone with six seconds left in the game to run the clock out, so Tampa Bay added an extra two points to the scoreboard.
Fans all across Philadelphia were distressed watching the game, wondering how we went from dominating to almost blowing the lead. Mrs. Miller stated, “We need to get ourselves together because we have way too much talent to have a second half happen the way it did.”
The Eagles are now one of two teams left in the NFL that are undefeated, but there are plenty of things to question about the team. Just like last year, the Eagles have been really sloppy to start the season, and yes they are winning games, but not very pretty. Our new offensive coordinator Kevin Putullo has been receiving heavy criticism for his playcalling and for not using our top Wideout AJ Brown. After the game, AJ Brown posted on X a bible quote that read “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” This leads to speculation as to what’s going on with the team. Does he want out? Will the Eagles even be willing to trade him? A lot of controversy is circling around a team that seems to be having no problems with winning games. Ultimately, time will tell if the Eagles can get it together and start utilizing their offensive players more.
A look into the positives, the Eagles are 4-0, and on a pretty good start to the season. Next Sunday, the Eagles have a home matchup with the 3-1 Denver Broncos.
