5 takeaways from the Eagles impressive win over the Buccaneers

It was a tale of two halves, but the Philadelphia Eagles (4-0) held on to a 31-25 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) on a sweltering Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

It was the best first half of any of the first four games this season on both sides of the football for the Eagles. The offense looked in sync, it was aggressive through the air while the defense clamped down to help build 24-6 lead at halftime.

The second half was one of the worst of through the first four games. Jalen Hurts did not complete a pass in the second half leading the offense to five three-and-outs, forcing the defense to make one final stop as Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers surged in the second half.

Despite the poor second half, the Eagles enter October as the only remaining undefeated team in the NFC and just one of two undefeated teams in the NFL along with Buffalo.

Here are five takeaways from the Week 4 win:

The big three needs to be more impactful

The trio of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley combined for 80 total yards in the win on Sunday. That cannot continue if this team wants to accomplish repeating as Super Bowl champions. There is too much talent between those three players to have such a low offensive output.

It marked the second game through the first four where Brown finished with single digit receiving yards and the third where he had less than 30 yards in a game. Prior to this season, he had nine such games in his six seasons when he played at least 75% of the team's snaps, with four coming in his rookie season in 2019.

Barkley coming off his historic 2,000-yard season has not had one of his signature games yet this year and is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry on 77 rushing attempts. He has surpassed 75 yards on the ground just once in Week 2 in the win at Kansas City.

Smith racked up 303 yards through the first four games he played in last season. That was nearly double the amount he has through the first month of the season in 2025 with just 158 yards on 17 catches. It's the lowest total for the talented wideout through the first four games of a season since being drafted.

Quinyon Mitchell is the real deal

Mitchell certainly showed his ability as a rookie last season and it is no different here to start this season. Sunday might have been Mitchell's best game as an Eagle. Per Next Gen Stats, the second-year pro allowed just two receptions for six yards on six targets across 22 matchups against rookie Emeka Egbuka who has been the Buccaneers' best wide receiver to start. Tampa Bay lost -5.7 EPA when targeting Egbuka when he lined up against Mitchell. He also shutdown Chris Godwin when the two went against each other.

His performance Sunday comes after he shutdown future hall of famer in Davante Adams last week against Los Angeles, allowing just two catches for 12 yards on five targets in 22 matchups.

Mitchell also showed his fiery personality when he steps on the field, jawing with Baker Mayfield and offensive lineman Tristian Wirfs.

The first-round pick from a year ago has already solidified himself as one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL certainly earning his nickname "Quinyonamo Bay".

Eagles are still perfect in the Red Zone

One of the key reasons the Eagles have been able to hold on and win some of these close games to this point is due to their excellent efficiency in the Red Zone. After going a perfect 3-for-3 on their trips Sunday, the Eagles have converted on 100% (11-for-11) of their Red Zone trips.

In the first half, the Eagles scored a pair of touchdowns on wrinkle plays to Dallas Goedert.

In the third quarter, Kevin Patullo dialed up a twist within the "Tush Push" formation with a sweeping handoff to Barkley who walked into the endzone.

Last season, Philadelphia found the endzone 58.3% of the time when in the Red Zone which was tied for 10th-best in the NFL.

Offensive line is not playing up to standard

The Eagles' offensive line has been arguably the best group of five in the offensive trenches for the last few years. However, the unit has been dealing with some injuries and inconsistent play this season.

On Sunday, Lane Johnson was forced to miss most of the second half with what was ruled a shoulder injury, marking the second straight game where the All-Pro right tackle has missed time forcing a reshuffling of the line in game.

Landon Dickerson still seems to be less than 100% coming off his meniscus repair surgery after he suffered the injury during the team's open practice earlier in the summer but gutted his way through the game to help keep the pocket clean for Hurts, especially in the first half.

"We are going to watch that film," Jordan Mailata said postgame. "We are going to see if we are one block away, if there's an error in communication, if it's a breakdown in detail in coaching, or if it's technique or execution problem. Those are things we can fix because of the people we have in the room and in the locker room."

This team continues to find ways to win

The Eagles are undefeated after going through perhaps the toughest stretch they will have all season. Many anticipated at least one loss in September playing Dallas, at Kansas City, home against the Rams and then capping it off in the team's house of horrors which is Tampa Bay. Three of those four teams were in the playoffs a season ago combining for a 42-26 record in the regular season.

It is another strong start to the season, something that has become customary under Nick Sirianni.

In the season opener, they had to match touchdown drives in an exciting first half shootout before an hour-long weather delay caused a screeching halt and the defense had to make one more stop late to hold on to the win.

At Kansas City, the offense struggled throughout the majority of the game and Hurts finished with just 101 yards passing in a defensive slugfest. Against the Rams, they were on the brink of being booed off their home field only to turn in one of the best comebacks in franchise history highlighted by a pair of blocked field goals.

On Sunday, the offense looked fantastic in the first half. The second half, it looked atrocious with zero completed passes, five three-and-outs forcing the defense to come up with one more stop in the triple-digit heat to close the game out.

"In the second half we didn't coach well enough, we didn't play well enough," Nick Sirianni said postgame. "We were able to hang on for the win because the defense was able to get us some turnovers. But, the second half, I'm not sure any of us played or coached to our standard there on offense."

Philadelphia hasn't put together a complete 60 minutes of football to this point. Is this style of play and finding ways sustainable for another season? That remains to be seen, but this team certainly knows how to win games.

The Eagles are now 20-1 in their last 21 games and are unbeaten after the first month of the season.