2025 Game Review – PHI 31, TB 25

Hot start. Cold finish. Ice cold finish. I came away from re-watching the game feeling better about the defense and even worse about the offense.

Let’s start with the bad. Everyone jumped on Kevin Patullo after the game. He’s the new guy. 10 of 11 starters are back so he must be the problem. I think the players were more of the issue in Tampa. Maybe the heat wore the guys down, but the team looked lethargic in that second half. There were some plays with poor effort. Bad execution is going to happen, but poor effort is more concerning. If they just wore down because of the heat, that’s not great but it is fixable. And they won’t play in another game like this until 2026.

The defense was dominant in the first half. Tampa ran 32 plays for 99 yards. The play that changed the game was the 77-yard TD. Drew Mukuba made a mistake and it cost a TD and it woke up the Bucs. Things were totally different after that play. The defense gave up 376 yards, but held TB to 3 of 13 on third down and only 1 of 3 on fourth down. They had a pair of takeaways. The defense is too erratic right now, but you can see the potential. As the young guys get more experience, this group will improve. And getting Nolan Smith back will help a lot.

As frustrating as the game was, it was still a good win. The Bucs are a good team. Playing in extreme heat isn’t easy. Going down there and finding a way to win in a place where the team has struggled recently says a lot about the Eagles. Learning how to win games isn’t easy. The Eagles have done that. It is a sign of being a really good team. Now they need to figure out how to play a complete game.

In the Rams game, the first half was the problem. In Tampa it was the second half. The Eagles are so close to looking really good. At least that’s the way I choose to interpret that.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni didn’t have a lot of big decisions in this game. The Eagles never went for it on fourth down. The gamebook shows them 0 for 1, but that was the final play of the game. The Eagles were up by 8 points and had 6 seconds to burn. Did they punt the ball away? They lined up to punt and then Mann ran the ball 34 yards backward and out of the end zone. TB got two points, but the game was over. Interesting decision.

Kevin Patullo did some great things in the red zone. There were a pair of creative TD passes to Dallas Goedert that worked perfectly. There was a fake off the Tush Push that fooled everyone. Great calls. The offense was efficient in the first half and the Eagles led 24-6. The wheels fell off in the second half. The players weren’t good and Patullo didn’t help matters. He kept trying to run the ball, but Tampa stuffed run after run. That put the Eagles into 2nd & long and caused more problems. No one had any answers in that second half.

Vic Fangio’s unit shut down Tampa in the first half. Good plan, good execution. Breakdowns killed the defense in the second half. Part of that was due to Baker Mayfield moving around to buy time. The Eagles had trouble getting him down. That’s how you get long TD passes. Tampa tried a lot of creative plays. Most didn’t work. They were well covered. The run defense was better but still needs to improve.

Micahel Clay’s STs came up with a huge blocked punt to start the game. He’s done a great job with blocks this year. Kickoff returns were fixed this week and back to being a strength. The new issue is punt coverage.

OFFENSE

Jalen Hurts had a really strange game. He was very good in  the first half, but a total mess in the second half. Hurts was 15-16-130 with 2 TDs at halftime. He didn’t complete a single pass in the second half (0-8). I don’t recall anything quite like that. Hurts went down hard late in the half and some have wondered if he had a concussion. Others wonder if the heat got too him. He struggled with accuracy and decision-making in the second half. I hope something was wrong with him. That was a concerning performance if he felt totally normal. Hurts did well as a runner, finishing 9-62. He had some key runs in the game, both scrambles and designed runs.

There were a couple of deep ball throws in the second half that weren’t close. Usually that is a strength of Hurts. AJ was open on one and the throw was off target. Probably my favorite throw was when he hit DG down the seam for a gain of 22.

Saquon Barkley had another frustrating game. He started 6-21 on the ground and went just 13-22 after that. Barkley simply didn’t have room to run. This was a mixture of poor blocking by the OL, poor blocking by the skill players and questionable play-calling. It was frustrating to watch. Barkley was 4-31 as a receiver. His pass protection was up and down. He needs to clean that up to help out his QB.

AJ Dillon went 3-17 on the ground. He had a couple of good pass blocks. Will Shipley was targeted once.

Another quiet game from AJ Brown. He finished just 2 for 7 yards on 9 targets. The Bucs DBs are physical players and match up with AJ better than the Rams secondary. Give TB credit for playing him well. Still, it was crazy to see so many passes come his way with so little to show for it. This has to get cleaned up going forward.

DeVonta Smith was 2-29 with a couple of good grabs. John Metchie was 2-10.

Dallas Goedert finished 4-37-2. Both TDs were on short, creative throws. It was great to see them use DG like that. Grant Calcaterra went 1-16 as a pass catcher. Neither TE blocked well. It is really disappointing to see DG struggle in this area. Calcaterra has never been a good blocker. DG normally is. There were some bad plays on Sunday.

The OL also had a rough day. All five of them got beaten at one time or another. Landon Dickerson just isn’t himself. Tyler Steen was solid before getting hurt, but struggled in the second half. It isn’t like these guys are terrible, but they are nowhere close to the level we are used to seeing.

Saquon Barkley had six carries against the Buccaneers in the third quarter, excluding his six-yard TD run on the fake tush push.

Barkley gained seven yards on those six carries.

Here’s the All-22 for all six plays. I’m not sure who can succeed with blocking like this. Yikes! pic.twitter.com/JA0ntXBG94

— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) September 29, 2025

The Bucs front seven whipped the Eagles blockers. You just don’t see that too often. Injuries are part of the problem. You also wonder if the blockers have lost some of their edge. A big part of physicality is attitude. I don’t like the body language I see from this group at times. Jeff Stoutland better get some things figured out in a hurry.

DEFENSE

If you could take away the penalties and the two long plays, you’d be pretty darn happy with the defense. As it was, they gave up more points and yards than you would like. They still made the key plays needed to win the game.

The pass rush does a solid job of getting pressure, but there aren’t enough guys getting clean wins and getting to the QB. Vic Fangio said Za’Darius Smith played his best game as an Eagle. Smith was good on bull rushes. The Eagles wanted to collapse the pocket on Baker Mayfield and bull  rushes are the best way to do that.

Jalyx Hunt had 2 tackles and a TFL. He was credited with the FF on the play where the ball got knocked out of the RB’s hand. Hunt is also a solid run defender.

This is a really nice job of setting the edge by Jalyx Hunt pic.twitter.com/axDfsKbB7e

— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) September 29, 2025

Josh Uche had 3 tackles. Ogbo Okoronkwo only played a few snaps before getting hurt. Patrick Johnson got some snaps at edge because of that. He wasn’t credited with any tackles. He did help to blow up a run play to his side. He dropped into coverage and was called for PI. Almost a great play on his part, but he got an arm around the receiver’s waist.

Jalen Carter was only credited with 1 tackle. I thought he played well. It was a brutally hot day and he played 49 snaps, tops amongst the DL. He would have played more, but he had a shoulder issue that caused him to miss some snaps. Carter was disruptive. Jordan Davis was somewhat quiet in this game. Moro Ojomo had 2 tackles, a sack and a deflected pass.

SACK! The @Eagles defense gets home

PHIvsTB on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/LJZffoFIwb

— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

Looping inside for the sack was impressive. Ojomo was disruptive quite a bit and had a good game. Byron Young was in on 3 tackles. He’s become a solid run defender. Rookie Ty Robinson got in for 2 snaps.

Zack Baun had another outstanding game. He was in on 8 tackles, had a sack, a TFL and a FF. Baun was good in coverage and against the run. He was used as a blitzer/rusher in this game and Tampa didn’t have much success on those plays. Jihad Campbell had 4 tackles and an INT. That pick came in the end zone. The ball was tipped and slowed down. Still, it was good to see him catch it. You never know when it comes to defensive players. I’m still haunted by Takeo Spikes dropping an easy INT in the 2007 season opener. Campbell gave up a 70-yd TD to RB Bucky Irving. His coverage wasn’t bad and Mayfield had way too much time, but you still want Campbell to do something there to stop the TD. That was a tough play.

Reed Blankenship played his best game of the season. He had 4 tackles and 2 PDs. He tipped the ball that Campbell picked off. The thing that impressed me most is the Blankenship played fast. He closed to the ball in a hurry.

6) I know he’s not a superstar, but I think Reed Blankenship is underrated by the national media (and possibly Eagles’ fans, too?). He has the flat her,e but he maintains his split-safety depth for as long as possible, flies downhill, and makes an outstanding tackle in space.… pic.twitter.com/sdov2jL86F

— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) September 30, 2025

Reed Blankenship sees this FAST

Great break on the ball to force incompletion on 3rd down pic.twitter.com/HQ6F4JqdRE

— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) September 29, 2025

I doubled up on Blankenship so you can see that’s not just one play. His ability to start at one spot and then fly to the ball is a key part of this defense’s success. He isn’t a huge playmaker, but he’s become a key part of the secondary.

Drew Mukuba was up and down. He had 6 tackles and a TFL. He had some good coverage moments, but had one huge bust. He came up on a play when he was supposed to have the deep half. That turned into a 77-yard TD. Ugh. There was no reason for him to come up. Huge mistake. Mukuba is a talented playmaker, but he must eliminate plays like that for this defense to get back to what it should be.

Quinyon Mitchell had the best game of his young career. He matched up with Emeka Egbuka for much of the game and was brilliant in coverage. Oddly, Mayfield kept throwing to Egbuka instead of going after Ringo. Mitchell had 5 tackles and 5 PDs. That is incredible production for one game.

Via tuffcover pic.twitter.com/oXbSbRB5kJ

— PEP (@pahrduve) September 30, 2025

Mitchell was able to plaster his man in coverage. That’s good. He was able to play the ball when it did come his way. That’s great. FOX did show him getting away with being handsy and holding on a couple of plays. Top players are aggressive and take some chances. Mitchell didn’t get called for it. The coaches should try to clean that up for the future, but don’t let any critics make you think he’s only good because he gets away with stuff. Dude is a stud CB.

So is Cooper DeJean. He might be the best nickel in the league. His ability to cover and tackle well makes him special. He led the team with 9 tackles and also had 3 PDs. The ball might go his way, but it won’t amount to much. He eliminates YAC.

Kelee Ringo got his first start of the season and had a solid game. Tampa didn’t test him much, which really surprised me. As Fangio pointed out, Ringo covered pretty well. He had 4 tackles, a PD and recovered a fumble. The area he needs to clean up is tackling. There is no lack of effort or toughness. He’s just been sloppy. The coaches will work on that.

ST

Another game, another huge play. Cam Latu came close to blocking a couple of punts in a previous game. This time he got through and finished.

Eagles Fullback Cam Latu with the blocked punt! ‍☠️@FullbackWatch

pic.twitter.com/cKob0bT4pr

— Last of the Fullbacks (@TheLastFullback) September 28, 2025

Great effort to get free and then extend for the ball. Sydney Brown scooped that up and scored. Great way to start the game. The Eagles became the first team in NFL history to end three consecutive opponent possessions with blocked kicks (FG vs Rams, FG vs Rams, punt vs Bucs). Damn impressive.

The return game was much better this week. Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby combined to average 30 yards per KOR.

The punt coverage unit wasn’t good. They gave up 100 return yards on 6 punts, with a long of 46. The Rams had some good returns as well. They need to get this cleaned up.

Braden Mann did average 52 yards per punt. He’s doing his part.

Jake Elliott nailed his only FG and was good on kickoffs.

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