Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles strayed from their usual ground-and-pound style of scoring on Sunday to secure a 31-25 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Improving to a perfect 4-0, Hurts completed 15-of-24 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, both to Dallas Goedert. Saquon Barkley added a rushing touchdown and finished with 62 total rushing yards.
Tampa Bay dropped to 3-1 behind Baker Mayfield, who threw for 289 yards on 22-of-40 attempts with two touchdowns and one interception, connecting with Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka for scores.
Fans were fired up as the Eagles showcased offensive creativity in their win, answering recent criticism over their use of the “Brotherly Shove” play.
Philadelphia got on the board before its offense took the field, as the Eagles blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. Hurts then connected with Goedert late in the first quarter to make it 14-3, following a field goal by Tampa Bay.
Hurts and Goedert linked up again in the second quarter, extending the lead to 21-3 with 6:10 remaining in the half. Both teams added field goals before the break–Tampa’s Cam McLaughlin’s good from 65-yards–sending the Eagles into halftime with a 24-6 advantage.
The Buccaneers found the end zone for the first time in the third quarter on a 77-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Egbuka, cutting the deficit to 24-13. But a fumble on their next possession led to a Philadelphia score, as Barkley punched in a rushing touchdown to push the lead to 31-13.
Mayfield answered with a 72-yard strike to Irving, bringing Tampa Bay within 31-20 entering the fourth quarter. The Bucs added a field goal in the fourth to close the gap to 31-23, and a late Eagles punt resulted in a safety, increasing Tampa Bay’s score to 25 as the game ended.
Philadelphia will face the Denver Broncos at home next Sunday.
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