Buccaneers Suffer First Loss Overpowered by Eagles on Monday Night Football, 25-11

There were a lot of questions coming into this game.

Yes, the status of players like Carlton Davis, Vita Vea, and Devin White were among them. But the biggest question surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into this Monday Night matchup vs. the Philadelphia Eagles was whether or not the Buccaneers possessed the necessary ingredients to stand up to a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

The Buccaneers took possession first, and although Canales came out of the gate mixing up his play calls with great variety, the Buccaneers were unable to convert a third down when star receiver, Mike Evans, couldn't bring down a pass that was a little high (but catchable) on a comeback route along the sideline.

The Eagles took possession, and big completions to A.J. Brown on back-to-back plays helped to put Philadelphia deep in Bucs' territory. But shortly after he was dusted by A.J. Brown for one of those receptions, second year cornerback, Zyon McCollum, immediately redeemed himself when he came up with a huge third down pass breakup in the end zone.

VIDEO: Buccaneers’ Mike Evans Makes Insane One-Handed Catch From Baker Mayfield

The Eagles opted to keep the offense on the field, and went for it on fourth-and-two, where a handoff to Kenneth Gainwell went nowhere thanks to some great run support by safeties, Ryan Neal and Antoine Winfield Jr.

After another unsuccessful possession for the Buccaneers, where Philly's defensive line really started to make their mark, the Bucs were forced to punt yet again. This time, a 52-yard return by Britain Covey gave the Eagles great field position. With the ball, led by D'Andre Swift, the Eagles continually gashed the Buccaneers' defense on the ground, with huge gains seeming to come at will.

For context, with four minutes to play in the first quarter, the Eagles had rushed five times for 35-yards, while the Bucs had rushed five times for 9 yards.

To make matters worse, Jamel Dean was forced to leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Thankfully, he was able to return for the next series. Even without Dean's services, the Bucs managed to force the Eagles into a third and long situation, resulting in a 36-yard field goal for the Eagles.

After unsuccessful drives for both offenses -- with the Eagles leading 3-0 -- Baker Mayfield and the Bucs' offense finally managed to string some plays together. A couple nice catches by Rachaad White, paired with a catch by Evans over the middle, helped the Buccaneers march into plus territory.

Facing third down, Mayfield launched a ball to Evans at the front corner of the endzone, which Evans did not secure. It was his second drop of the night, and though the pass wasn't perfect, it would have been caught if he'd come back to the football.

The Bucs had to settle for a field goal, tying the game 3-3 with just over eight minutes to play in the half.

On the Eagles ensuing possession, after a couple healthy gains through the air, their offense faced 3rd-and-10 from the Buccaneers’ 34-yard line. Just milliseconds from being sacked by Greg Gaines, Jalen Hurts managed to launch a ball that barely sailed over the outstretched fingertips of Jamel Dean, but landed squarely in the arms of Olamide Zaccheus, who ended up trotting into the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown with 3:42 seconds remaining in the first half

10-3 Eagles.

With the Buccaneers regaining possession, down by a touchdown (10-3) the pressure was beginning to mount.

And right at that moment, as the rain began to pour down on the fans at Raymond James stadium, Baker Mayfield threw his first interception of this season. Eagles safety, Reed Blankenship was the beneficiary, and the turnover gave the Eagles fantastic field position mere moments before the 2-minute warning.

Despite the limited amount of time left in the half, there was plenty of drama to be had before the teams went into the locker room.

On the very next possession, a mix-up between Jalen Hurts and his receiver resulted in a gift of an interception to Bucs' linebacker, Devin White. White, who was questionable leading up to this contest, casually scampered out of bounds around the Tampa 40-yard line, despite seeing plenty of green grass ahead.

VIDEO: Buccaneers' Devin White Intercepts Eagles' Jalen Hurts Before Halftime

With time running out on the first half, the Buccaneers wanted to take advantage of their new opportunity. But after a quick check down from Mayfield, Rachaad White had the ball punched out of his grip by standout rookie defensive tackle, Jalen Carter, resulting in the third turnover within a 2-minute span of football. The fumble, recovered by the Eagles, gave them possession back on the Buccaneers’ 37-yard line.

Up against the wall... again, the Buccaneers managed to limit the damage from the Eagles. With the clock winding down on the half, Jamel Dean almost made an impressive interception, just a few yards from the goal line, but wasn’t able to secure it.

Based on the field position gifted to the Eagles, it was definitely a win for the Buccaneers, who managed to hold Philadelphia to another field goal to end the first half.

Eagles 13, Buccaneers 3.

With possession to start the second half, the Eagles wasted no time getting to work. Jalen Hurts led an impressive drive down the field, which resulted in a 1-yard 'push sneak' for Hurts, providing the Eagles with a commanding 20-3 lead early in the third quarter.

It felt like now or never for the Buccaneers.

Unfortunately for the fans in attendance -- while being drenched by an aggressive downpour -- that wasn't enough to inspire a scoring drive for their Buccaneers. Instead, the possession ended with Baker Mayfield grimacing in pain as he jogged to the sideline, after being hammered in the midst of launching a deep ball intended for Mike Evans, that sailed incomplete.

On the Eagles' next possession, they continued to assert their dominance over the Buccaneers on the ground. The drive was highlighted by a 41-yard dash up the field by D'Andre Swift, who has looked unstoppable running behind the Eagles offensive line over the past two weeks. That explosive run gave Swift 127 yards rushing on the day, with more than a quarter of football still to be played.

However, on the very next play, Hurts took a deep shot to Devonta Smith in the end zone, but a leaping Dee Delaney came out of nowhere and snatched the ball at the last moment, somehow managing to get both feet inbounds.

That momentum was snatched back immediately, though. As the Buccaneers' took over from their own 1-yard line, despite having no success running the football all night, Dave Canales felt obligated to stick with it. The result? A touchback.

White was gang tackled two yards into the endzone, and the new life obtained by the Buccaneers from Delaney's interception just moments earlier was snatched away just as quickly as it was earned.

After the safety, and the ensuing possession that saw the Eagles settle for a field goal, Philadelphia had a 25-3 lead over the home team, with just over 13 minutes to play in the game.

On the following Buccaneers' possession, Mike Evans, under a bit of fire for dropping a couple balls in the first half, quickly reminded the world just how talented he is. After securing a 24-yard reception on the previous play, Evans made an incredible one-handed catch while being tackled in the middle of the field.

After a third down conversion to Chris Godwin came up just short of the pylon, the Bucs had a fresh set of downs from the Eagles' 1-yard line. On third down, Mayfield hit Evans in the endzone.

The Bucs wisely opted to go for two, and Mayfield hit Godwin in the back of the endzone to convert.

It was 25-11 Eagles, with 9:22 left on the clock.

For a Buccaneers defense that spent over 70 plays on the field, a demoralizing drive led by Jalen Hurts coinciding with a "Let's go Eagles" chant reigning down at Raymond James Stadium, was just salt in the wound.

The Eagles marched the ball down the field in methodical fashion, draining all nine minutes left on the clock, while simultaneously reminding the league just how tough they are to slow down, especially when playing with a lead.

Despite a final score that reads 25-11, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- dealing with a couple injuries at key positions -- did show some toughness and resolve in this contest. But when push came to shove -- which is definitely the appropriate phrase to be used -- the Eagles absolutely dominated the trenches on both sides.

Throw in a really talented quarterback, with dynamic weapons all over the field, and the challenge brought to the table by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football was simply too great for the Buccaneers to overcome.

The Buccaneers will look to rediscover their winning ways next Sunday, when they travel to New Orleans for an important divisional matchup vs. the Saints.

You can follow Collin Haalboom on X.

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