The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-16, on Sunday, improving their 2024 record to 3-1 and taking over sole possession of first place in the NFC South thanks to Atlanta's last-minute win over New Orleans.Tampa Bay has now had at least a share of first place in the division for 47 of the last 55 weeks in the regular season. The Buccaneers are seeking a fourth straight NFC South title.
The Buccaneers have now won six of their last seven games against the Eagles, playoffs included, dating back to 2015. The all-time record in the head-to-head series is now an even 9-9 in the regular season. Tampa Bay is 4-2 against Philadelphia in the postseason.
The Buccaneers amassed 445 yards of offense against the Eagles and allowed just 227 yards. That yardage differential of +218 is the 14th-highest in any game in franchise history and the most since the Bucs had 257 more yards than the Miami Dolphins in a 45-17 win on October 10, 2021. The 227 yards gained by the Eagles was their fewest since another loss to the Buccaneers on October 14, 2021, when they gained just 213 yards. The 114 net passing yards Philadelphia put up on Sunday was also their fewest since they had 2013 in that same game in 2021.
Philadelphia had zero net yards in the first quarter on Sunday. That's the fewest the Bucs have allowed to any opponent in the first quarter of a game since a 12-9 win at Carolina on October 27, 2002.
Baker Mayfield led the Bucs to victory with 347 yards on 30-of-47 passes, finishing Tampa Bay's first two drives of the game with touchdown passes to Mike Evans and Trey Palmer. That marked the first time the Buccaneers had scored touchdowns on each of their first two possession of a game since they did so in a 30-17 road win over the Falcons on December 5, 2021. It was also the first time since the 2022 season finale, also in Atlanta, that the Bucs had scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game.
Mayfield was not intercepted in the game and finished with a passer rating of 100.2. His overall passer rating in 2024 is now at 106.8, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
Highest Passer Rating, NFL, 2024
- Sam Darnold, Vikings: 118.9
- Josh Allen, Bills: 116.5
- Jayden Daniels, Commanders: 107.4
- Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers: 106.8
- Joe Burrow, Bengals: 105.9
Mayfield's two touchdown passes raised his season total to eight, which ranks second among all NFL quarterbacks.
Most Touchdown Passes, NFL, 2024
- Sam Darnold, Vikings: 11
- Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers: 8
- Josh Allen, Bills: 7
- Joe Burrow, Bengals: 7
- six tied with: 6
Mayfield's touchdown pass to Evans on the first possession of the game was one of a team-high eight catches for Evans for 94 yards. The touchdown catch was the 97th of Evans' career, moving him past the Raiders' Davante Adams into sole possession of 12th place in that category in NFL history. Evans is just two behind Don Hutson (99) for the 11th-place spot and three away from becoming the 11th player in NFL history to hit triple digits.
Evans touchdown catch added six points to his career scoring total, pushing it to 596 and making him the all-time leading scorer in franchise history. By passing former kicker Martin Gramatica (592), Evans joined Emmitt Smith of Dallas and Jerry Rice of San Francisco as the only non-kickers currently to be a franchise's all-time scorer.
Most Points Scored, Buccaneers History
- WR Mike Evans: 596
- K Martin Gramatica: 592
- K Michael Husted: 502
- K Connor Barth: 477
- FB Mike Alstott: 432
Evans caught his 97th touchdown pass in the 158th regular season game of his career. That ties Alstott for the ninth most in team history. He needs just three more games played to surpass former center Tony Mayberry for eighth place.
Fellow wideout Chris Godwin also snared six passes for 69 yards against the Eagles, pushing his career total to 7,012 receiving yards. He joined Evans as the only players in Bucs history to surpass the 7,000-yard mark in that category. Godwin continues to rank among the NFL's receiving leaders in 2024, standing third in receptions (27), sixth in yards (322) and tied for third in touchdown catches (3).
Most Receptions, NFL, 2024
- Malik Nabers, Giants: 35
- Nico Collins, Texans: 30
- Chris Godwin, Buccaneers: 27
- Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants: 26
- Stefon Diggs, Texans: 25
Linebacker Lavonte David led a spirited defensive effort by the Bucs with a team-high eight tackles plus 2.0 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. It was the fourth multi-sack game of David's career and his first since the 2018 season. David now has 35.5 career sacks and has moved past Chidi Ahanotu into seventh place on the Bucs' all-time list in that category.
Most Sacks, Buccaneers History
1. Lee Roy Selmon: 78.5
2. Warren Sapp: 77.0
3. Simeon Rice: 69.5
4. Gerald McCoy: 54.5
5. Shaquil Barrett: 45.0
6. David Logan: 39.0
7. Lavonte David: 35.5
8. Chidi Ahanotu: 34.5
9t. Brad Culpepper: 33.0
9t. Jason Pierre-Paul: 33.0
David's eight tackles gave him 1,507 in his career, allowing him to join Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks as the only players in team history to eclipse the 1,500-tackle mark. He also forced a fumble for the 30th time in his career and is now tied for the most forced fumbles among active NFL players.
Most Forced Fumbles, NFL, Active Players
1t. Lavonte David, Buccaneers: 30
1t. Khalil Mack, Chargers: 30
3t. Von Miller, Bills: 27
3t. T.J. Watt, Steelers: 27
5t. Brandon Graham, Eagles: 21
5t. Demarcus Lawrence, Cowboys: 21
After defensive lineman Ben Stille recovered the Hurts fumble caused by David in the third quarter, the Buccaneers mounted a 42-yard field goal drive that gave the Bucs a three-score lead and proved to be the final points of the game. Kicker Chase McLaughlin drilled his second field goal of the day, this one from 52 yards out. McLaughlin is now 27 of 32 in his career from 50 yards or farther, and he continues to be the NFL's all-time leader in field goal percentage from that range.
Best Field Goal Percentage on Attempts of 50-Plus Yards, NFL History (minimum 20 attempts)
| Kicker | Team(s) | Made | Att. | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase McLaughlin | LAC, SF, IND, JAX, NYJ, CLE & TB | 27 | 32 | 84.4% |
| Chris Boswell | PIT | 35 | 43 | 81.4% |
| Daniel Carlson | MIN & LV | 28 | 36 | 77.8% |
| Evan McPherson | CIN | 24 | 31 | 77.4% |
| Younghoe Koo | ATL | 26 | 34 | 76.5% |
McLaughlin has made all seven of his field goal attempts so far this season. Dating back to the 2023 campaign, McLaughlin has now made 25 consecutive field goals during the regular season. That ties for the longest such streak in franchise history.
Most Consecutive Field Goals Made, Regular Season, Buccaneers History
1t. Chase McLaughlin: 25, 10/26/23 – 9/29/24
1t. Connor Barth: 25, 10/16/11 – 9/30/12
3t. Martin Gramatica: 16, 10/9/00 – 12/3/00
3t. Michael Husted: 16, 11/19/95 – 9/22/96
