Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Buccaneers game

The Philadelphia Eagles looked very pretty for one half of football, and very ugly during the other half. Hey, that feels like a trend. In the end, they survived a hot day against a pesky familiar foe in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As always, win, lose, or tie, we hand out 10 awards.

1) The 'Fast Start' Award ▶️: Cameron Latu

After the Eagles' defense forced a Buccaneers punt on Tampa's opening possession of the game, Cameron Latu got free and blocked it, with Sydney Brown doing the rest:

Latu has come close to blocking other punts this season, and he got home for an enormous play to start the game.

The Eagles now have touchdowns on blocked kicks in consecutive games. Their special teams block units have become a major weapon this season.

2) The 'MVP Candidate' Award 🙌: Jalen Hurts, in the first half

Hurts had an outstanding first half in this game, going 15 of 16 for 130 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, and rushing 4 times for 42 yards. His highlight play was a 29-yard scramble down to the Bucs 2-yard line. Maybe just get out of bounds instead of lowering your shoulder, though, Jalen.

The passing game was humming in the first half. Hurts was nearly perfect, Kevin Patullo was calling creative plays, and and the offensive line was executing. And then...

3) The 'Yuck' Award 😝: Jalen Hurts, in the second half

Hurts was 0 for 8 in the second half for 0 yards (duh), and he took 2 sacks for -18 yards. The Eagles did not have a single completed pass in the second half!

It'll be easy to pass blame on the play calls, but Hurts also made a number of off-target throws that had no chance of being completed, including a deep ball that sailed out of bounds that was intended for an open A.J. Brown. Hurts was also lucky not to be picked off on a short throw to Brown in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles' passing offense stunk in the first half against the Rams last week, but turned it on in the second half. Today, it was the opposite. They've looked deadly when they've been on, but they've been wildly inconsistent.

4) The 'Milk Carton' Award 🥛: The Eagles' rushing attack

The Eagles' run game was beyond elite in 2024, what with Saquon Barkley breaking the single-season rushing record and all. So far in 2025, opposing defenses have shut Barkley down.

Barkley carried 19 times for 43 yards (2.3 YPC) and a TD against the Bucs. On the season, he has 77 carries for 237 yards, an average of 3.1 yards per carry. This time last year, he had carried 73 times for 435 yards, or 6.0 yards per carry. He's averaging nearly three fewer yards per carry (!) through four weeks than he had at this point last season.

Yes, opposing defenses are game planning to stop Barkley first and foremost, but I don't think anyone would have imagined he would be averaging 3.1 yards per carry after four games. That's arguably a bigger issue than the passing game.

5) The 'Smoke and Mirrors' Award 💨 🪞: The Eagles' Tush Push trickery

The Eagles ran two tricky plays in situations they might otherwise run the Tush Push. The first was on the Eagles' first drive of the game, after the aforementioned Hurts run to the Bucs' 2-yard line.

Though the Eagles weren't in Tush Push formation, Hurts lined up in a something of a QB sneak pre-snap stance, before underhand flipping the ball to Dallas Goedert, who shimmied in for a touchdown:

Later, the Eagles lined up in Tush Push formation on a 3rd and 1 from the Bucs' 6 yard line, and ran a little end around to Barkley, who walked in for a score.

I'm sure the Eagles ran that partly because they had a bead on how the Bucs were trying to defend the Tush Push. But maybe they also recognized that the Bucs were being more physical in the trenches, and opted for a little smoke and mirrors instead of playing bully ball?

Whatever the case, the approach worked.

6) The 'Main Objective, Won' Award 👍: The turnover battle

The Eagles won the turnover battle, as usual:

Jalyx Hunt forced a Bucky Irving fumble which was recovered by Kelee Ringo. That led to an Eagles touchdown, the only Eagles points in the second half.

The Eagles also got an interception from Jihaad Campbell with the Bucs already in the Eagles red zone.

The Eagles won a Super Bowl last year, largely because they consistently won the turnover battle. They won this game, you know, because they won the turnover battle.

7) The 'Main Objective, Lost' Award 👎: The explosive play battle

From a big picture standpoint, the Eagles want to win the turnover battle and the explosive play battle. They lost the explosive play battle today. The defense gave up two touchdowns of over 70 yards, mainly because of coverage busts from their two rookie starters, Campbell and Andrew Mukuba.

The first was a deep ball to Emeka Egbuka, with the Eagles in Cover 2. Mukuba said he "overplayed his leverage" on this play.

The second was a 72-yard connection between Mayfield and Bucky Irving:

Campbell was beaten on the play, though in fairness that's not an ideal position to be putting him in.

8) The 'Unsportsmanlike' Award 🚩: The Eagles' young defense

After making a very good tackle, Cooper DeJean stepped over Bucs RB Rachaad White like Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue. Can't do that. DeJean was called for taunting, and a would-be 3rd and 7 at the Bucs' 41 instead became 1st and 10 at the Eagles' 44. The Bucs ended up kicking a field goal on that drive that might have otherwise resulted in no points.

Additionally, Quinyon Mitchell spent a lot of the first half seeking out Baker Mayfield to talk smack any chance he could. On one occasion, Tristan Wirfs stepped in, and Mitchell ripped Wirfs' helmet off of his head. Somehow, he didn't get flagged for that.

As Eagles fans have seen this season, there's an emphasis by the NFL to get taunting out of the game. And whether the over-enforcement of taunting by officials is lame or not, the Eagles' young defense has to stop committing stupid penalties.

9) The 'Bailout' Award 😅: Also the Eagles defense

Though their emotions get the best of them sometimes, the Eagles defense also brings it, and they bailed out the offense today.

The offense had five three-and-outs in the second half, and constantly put the Eagles' defense in precarious situations. Because of all the quick Eagles possessions on offense, the Bucs had 13 possessions in this game.

The Eagles' D gave up just 18 first downs (1.4 per drive), and 25 points (1.9 per drive) to a talented offense. They also came up big in key moments, holding the Bucs to 3 of 13 third down conversions and 1 of 3 fourth down conversions.

They did give up the two long touchdowns, but they also created two turnovers. The offense provided just enough of a cushion in the first half, but they needed the defense to bail them repeatedly on a 90-degree day in Florida.

10) The 'Big Picture' Award 🌎: The Eagles' standing within the NFL's hierarchy

Has it always looked pretty? Hell no. But ultimately, the Eagles got through the hardest part of their schedule unblemished, and they have a much more manageable schedule ahead:

• Week 5: Broncos

• Week 6: At Giants

• Week 7: At Vikings

• Week 8: Giants

• Week 9: BYE

The Eagles are the lone undefeated team in the NFC, and the only other unbeaten team in the NFL is the Bills. They are up two games in the NFC East and have wins over three Super Bowl contenders in the Chiefs, Rams, and Buccaneers, the latter two of which could be meaningful down the road in tiebreaker scenarios.

Quibble with the aesthetics if you will, but how many teams would gladly trade places with the Eagles right now?

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