The good, the bad and the ugly from Buccaneers' loss to Eagles

It was a tough day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who fell to 3-1 on the season in a lopsided 31-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bucs offense struggled to find any consistency moving the ball down the field throughout the game, outside of two broken plays that led to late explosive scores. Meanwhile, the Bucs defense struggled to contain Jalen Hurts and let him dink and dunk his way down the field in the first half.

While both units dramatically improved in the second half, they could never make up the lost ground from a blocked punt off their opening drive that went for six the other way.

The Bucs looked outmatched at times, but held Saquon Barkley to just 26 yards on the ground and AJ Brown to just seven targets through the air. I have a feeling this won't be the last time these two teams meet this season, and the Bucs have the blueprint on how to beat them if they clean up some minor things.

Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Bucs' loss to the Eagles.

Good

RB Bucky Irving

Bucky has yet to run for over 100 yards on the season, but he went there receiving against the Eagles thanks to a huge 72-yard touchdown catch and run down the sideline on a broken play. Irving finished the day with five receptions for 102 yards and the score. He added 63 yards on the ground and more than made up for an untimely fumble he had earlier in the game.

WR Emeka Egbuka

The Bucs rookie came through in the third quarter in a big way with the team trailing 24-6. Egbuka wasn’t even a proper read on the play when he came down with a huge 77-yard touchdown catch and run, injecting life back into the team. He finished the day with four receptions for 101 yards and the score.

K Chase McLaughlin

McLaughlin has fully rebounded after a rough two games to open the season. He hit a franchise record 65-yard field goal before the half to give the Bucs some momentum heading into he third quarter. Not only was his kick a franchise record, it was his career-long by seven yards and the longest outdoor FG in NFL history.

Bad

QB Baker Mayfield

It wasn’t Baker Mayfield’s best day against the Eagles. Before ultimately throwing an interception, he had a few near picks and also had his third fumble of the season. While he did lead the Bucs on a comeback and displayed some "Baker Magic", it wasn’t his sharpest game, and he had several passes batted down. He finished the day going 22-40 for 289 yards and two scores.

Third Down and Red Zone Offense

Another week where the Bucs' vaunted third-down offense from last year has disappeared. The Buccaneers offense was just 3-13 on the pivotal down and was forced to punt the ball more times than they should’ve. Mayfield being under constant pressure didn’t make matters easier, but the Bucs have regressed in this area over the last two games.

In the red zone, Mayfield’s pick took points off the board, and his fumble inside the 20 made them settle for a field goal. In two trips in scoring position, the Bucs came away with just 3 points, going 0-2 and missing out on points contributed to the loss.

Containment on Hurts

After holding Hurts to just 20 yards in their last meeting, the Bucs let him run all over them on Sunday. Hurts used his legs to pick up several first downs and finished the day with 62 yards rushing, including a long scramble of 29 yards.

The Eagles' tackles often drove their edge rushers out of the play, opening up lanes for Hurts, who took them when necessary. The other times, he was able to deliver timely passes to move the ball forward for positive yards. The Bucs will need to clean this up with several more mobile quarterbacks on the schedule.

Ugly

Riley Dixon

For the second time this season, Dixon has had a punt blocked. Only on Sunday, it was for the worst possible outcome with the Eagles returning the blocked punt for a touchdown. It didn’t get much better for Dixon on his next punt with an 18-yard shank. He finished the day with a measly 36.7 average. The Bucs need to fix whatever is going on here.

Haggard and Heck' Pass Pro

The pressure was coming in fast and furious on Sunday from the Buccaneers' makeshift right side. Luke Haggard, making his second career start, struggled mightily against Jalen Carter and was walked back and bulldozed on several plays.

Charlie Heck was a borderline turnstile, forcing Mayfield into difficult situations. To make matters worse, the Bucs are kind of stuck until Luke Goedeke returns — unless they want to give undrafted rookie Ben Chukwuma a shot.

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