JIHAAD CAMPBALL LEADS BIG-PLAY MOMENTS TO KEEP EAGLES UNBEATEN - NOTES FROM THE 31-25 WIN
- Al Thompson
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Eagles' defense came up big in the second half to keep the Birds (4-0) unbeaten and on top of the NFC after holding on for a thrilling 31-25 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ramond James Stadium in brutally hot Tampa, Florida.
Trailing by eight with 7:57 left in the fourth quarter, with the ball on the Eagles eleven-yard line and first down, quarterback Baker Mayfield tried to hit Chris Godwin in the right front of the end zone.
Unfortunately for Godwin and Mayfield, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship got a hand on the ball just enough to redirect it enough to end up in the hands of rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the endzone for a touchback.
The Bucs never recovered.
The scoring started when the Buccaneers opening drive stalled at their own 48-yard line.
Riley Dixon's punt was blocked by tight end Cameron Latu, who was recently brought up from the practice squad.
The ball was picked up by safety Sidney Brown at the Tampa Bay 35.
Brown raced 35 yards for a 7-0 lead 12:51 mark of the first quarter.
The Birds raced out to a 24-3 lead with 58 seconds left in the first half on a pair of touchdowns by tight end Dallas Goedert who caught a two-yard shovel pass Jalen Hurts at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter, then a five-hard shove pass from Hurts with 6:10 left in the second quarter.
Jake Elliott added a 39-yard field goal with 58 seconds left in the first half.
The Bucs' scores came by a pair of explosive plays and two very long field goals.
Chase McLaughlin hit field goals of 58-yards and 65-yards (tied for second in NFL history. He also hit one from 42 yards.
Mayfield hit Emeka Egbuka for a 77-yard strike with 9:51 left in the third quarter, then followed that up with a 72-yard bomb to Bucky Irving with 2:10 left in the third.
The Eagles other TD came on a fake "Tush Push" play at the Bucs six-yard line. Hurts took the snap and flipped to Saguon Barkley who walked into the end zone.
Note: Lane Johnson left the game in the third quarter after reinjuring a stinger he suffered against the Rams last week.
Hurts finished 15 of 24 for 130 yards, two TD passes and no interceptions. Hurts missed all seven of his passing attempts in the second half. Hurts rushed nine times for 62 yards to lead the Eagles. He did not turn the ball over.
Hurts was sacked twice.
Barkley rushed 19 times for 43 yards and a TD.
A.J Brown was targeted nine times but caught just two passes for seven yards.
Mayfield was 22 of 40 for 289 yards, two TD passes, two interceptions. He also was sacked twice.
The Eagles as a team rushed 32 times for 88 yards. The Bucs rushed 26 times for 104 yards.
On defense, The Eagles got their hands on 12 Mayfield passes. Cooper DeJean led the team with nine tackles (eight solo) and two defended passes.
"It's a great team win. Another gritty win," Hurts said in his post game press conference. "We found a way to win. We know this place has been a challenge for us, a good opponent over the years. I'm proud of the way we competed. We didn't quit."
NOTES: PHILADELPHIA REMAINS UNDEFEATED AT 4-0
Philadelphia won its franchise-record-tying 10th consecutive game (including playoffs) to improve to 4-0 for the eighth time in team history (also 1954, 1981, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2022, and 2023).
This is the Eagles’ second 10-game winning streak in the last 12 months (Weeks 6-15 in 2024). Philadelphia has turned in a 20-1 (.952) record in its last 21 games (including playoffs), marking the most victories over any 21-game stretch in team history.
According to Elias Sports, Nick Sirianni is the third head coach in NFL history with three 4-0 starts in their first five career seasons, joining Paul Brown and George Halas.
The Eagles are one of just four remaining NFL teams with undefeated records, along with Buffalo, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. Furthermore, Philadelphia is the only club with three 4-0 starts since the 2021 campaign.
Nick Sirianni (.722, 52-20) now owns the 4th-highest winning percentage by a head coach in NFL history, moving past Ray Flaherty (.720, 1936-42). Only Guy Chamberlin (.784, 1922-27), John Madden (.759, 1969-78), and Vince Lombardi (.738, 1959-67 and ‘69) rank ahead of Sirianni.
The Eagles are tied with Kansas City for the top road winning percentage (.722, 26-10) in the NFL under Sirianni (since 2021), winning seven of their last eight away games.
Jalen Hurts (.714, 50-20) eclipsed Joe Montana (.713, 1979-94) for the 5th-best QB winning percentage since the 1970 NFL merger, behind Patrick Mahomes (.783, 90-25), Tom Brady (.754, 251-82), Roger Staubach (.743, 84-29), and Lamar Jackson (.732, 71-26) (min. 50 starts).
Philadelphia has won 18 contests in a row that were started and finished by Hurts.
POST-GAME NOTES
Following an Eagles defensive stand on Tampa Bay’s first possession, Cameron Latu blocked a punt by Buccaneers P Riley Dixon that was recovered by Sydney Brown and returned 35 yards for a TD, giving Philadelphia a 7-0 advantage. The play marked the Eagles’ special teams’ third consecutive opponent drive that resulted in a blocked kick (including 2 returned for TDs).
According to Elias Sports, Philadelphia became the first NFL team that has blocked a kick (FG or punt) on three consecutive opponent possessions since at least 1978.
Philadelphia is the fourth NFL team since at least 2000 to produce a FG block returned for a TD and a punt block returned for a TD in the same season (only team to do so in two straight games), joining the 2012 Seahawks, 2008 Cardinals, and 2001 Titans.
According to Elias Sports, the last NFL team to return a blocked kick (FG or punt) for a TD in consecutive games was the Eagles during Weeks 4-5 in 2014.
Brown’s return TD was Philadelphia’s first blocked punt returned for a TD since 12/6/15 at New England, when Najee Goode recovered a Chris Maragos block and returned it 24 yards. It was the Eagles’ first blocked punt since 10/10/21 at Carolina (T.J. Edwards).
Philadelphia followed its special teams score with an 8-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard TD pass from Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert that made it a 14-0 game in the first quarter. This is the first time Goedert has scored TDs in back-to-back games since Weeks 9-10 in 2022.
Hurts completed 5-of-6 attempts for 33 yards and 1 TD while producing a 28-yard run that positioned the Eagles’ offense at the 2-yard line, setting up the red zone TD.
Dallas Goedert’s 5-yard TD on a shovel pass from Jalen Hurts in the second quarter gave Philadelphia a 21-3 advantage, finishing a 6-play, 67-yard possession. The score marked Goedert’s second career multi-TD game, having previously caught 2 TDs on 12/5/21 at N.Y. Jets.
Hurts completed 5-of-5 throws for 65 yards and 1 TD during the series, including a pair of 20+ yard completions to Goedert (22) and DeVonta Smith (20). Hurts combined for 98 yards and 2 TDs with a 143.4 rating on 10-of-11 (90.9%) passing through two drives.
The Eagles have scored TDs on each of their first 10 red zone drives this season.
Jake Elliott converted a 39-yard FG to make it a 24-3 game with 1:01 remaining in the first half, completing a 12-play, 54-yard possession. The kick marked Elliott’s 200th career FG.
Saquon Barkley extended the lead to 31-13 in the third quarter with a 6-yard rushing TD that finished a 6-play, 25-yard drive. The score was set up by a takeaway by the Eagles defense when Jalyx Hunt forced a fumble by Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (recovered by Kelee Ringo).
The takeaway was the 3rd FR of Ringo’s career (last: 11/3/24 vs. Jacksonville).
Barkley has rushed for a TD in five consecutive road games (dating back to 2024), marking the longest such streak by an Eagle since the 1970 NFL merger.
On 1st-and-10 at the PHI 11 with 7:57 remaining in the 4th quarter, Reed Blankenship tipped a Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield pass, which was intercepted by Jihaad Campbell in the end zone for the touchback.
It was Campbell’s first-career interception.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell recorded a career-high with 5 PDs.
EAGLES RECORD BOOK
Lane Johnson appeared in the 162nd regular-season game of his NFL career, tying Jon Dorenbos (2006-16) for the 10th-most games played in Eagles history. Johnson ranks 3rd among Eagles OL since the 1970 merger, behind Jason Kelce (193, 2011-23) and Tra Thomas (166, 1998-2008).
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