Entering Sunday, there were only three unbeaten teams remaining in the NFC, and two of them squared off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to narrow that number down even more. The 3-0 Bucs, fresh off three straight wins in the final minute to start their 50th season, hosted the 3-0, defending Super Bowl champion Eagles under the hot September sun.

The Bucs had to play this one without Mike Evans, but the season debuts of left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. promised to help matters for a team that has been hit hard by injuries weekly, even dating back to training camp.

Unfortunately for Todd Bowles and Tampa Bay, a slow start proved to be too much to overcome in this game. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown gave Philadelphia an early 7-0 lead, and that lead grew to 24-6 by halftime. The Bucs hit on some explosive plays in the second half and got themselves back within 31-23, but an ill-timed poor decision in the fourth quarter by Baker Mayfield led to an interception in the end zone. From there, the comeback wasn’t to be.

The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 3-1 on the year and kept the team from its first 4-0 start since 2005 and a perfect September.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday’s loss at Raymond James Stadium:

Eagles 31, Bucs 25

The Eagles won the coin toss and deferred, giving the Bucs offense a chance to take an early lead. But after getting near midfield, Baker Mayfield couldn’t connect with Emeka Egbuka on a third down, leading to a punt attempt. Only Riley Dixon once again couldn’t get the punt off in time, with Cameron Latu getting through the middle to block it and Sydney Brown returning it 36 yards for  touchdown and a quick 7-0 Philadelphia lead.

The start didn’t get any better for Tampa Bay from there, as the offense went three-and-out and had to punt the ball away again despite a Chris Godwin Jr. catch for eight yards on first down. This time, Dixon got the punt off, setting up the Eagles offense for its first possession of the afternoon.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: USA Today

Philly got the ball moving quickly with a completion from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley, then Hurts converted a 3rd & 8 with pressure in his face by finding Devonta Smith for nine yards. A couple plays later, Hurts scrambled for 29 yards to the 2-yard line, which set up a short touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert that put the visitors up 14-0 halfway through the first quarter.

Mayfield and the offense then retook the field needing some kind of answer to the Eagles’ onslaught. They got some help from the Philly defense, with Cooper DeJean getting called for taunting after a tackle and a personal foul on Jalyx Hunt getting the ball into plus territory. From there, a third-down conversion by Rachaad White got the drive into the red zone, but it stalled out on a 3rd & 10 when Mayfield lost the ball and had to dive on it for a loss.

Chase McLaughlin then came on to boot a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first quarter. So, the Bucs did get some points on the board to cut into the early deficit, but they still trailed 14-3 after 15 minutes.

It only got worse for the Bucs in the second quarter, even though their defense got a stop and gave the offense a chance to cut even further into the Eagles’ lead. Tampa Bay couldn’t do so, and an 18-yard punt by Dixon (albeit with a holding penalty on Philadelphia) didn’t help any.

Hurts and the Philly offense marched right down the field again, with a 22-yard pass to Goedert, a 16-yarder to Grant Calcaterra and a 20-yarder to Smith on 3rd & 6 setting up another shovel pass touchdown from Hurts to Goedert. With the PAT, it was 21-3 Eagles.

The Buccaneer offense still couldn’t get the ball moving on its next possession either, which sent the ball right back to the Eagles. And after draining more clock, a 39-yard field goal by Jake Elliott made it a 24-3 game with just under a minute left in the half.

Tampa Bay got the benefit of a roughing the passer penalty to extend its next drive, but without any timeouts to work with and an inability to push the ball down the field vertically, there wasn’t much to get going. Despite that, though, the Bucs did get some points before heading into the locker room as Chase McLaughlin booted a 65-yard field goal – the longest in franchise history, tied for the second-longest in NFL history and the longest outdoor kick in league history – to make it a 24-6 game heading into halftime.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs found a bit of a spark early in the second half, with a SirVocea Dennis tackle for loss and a Vita Vea sack leading to an Eagles three-and-out before Kameron Johnson returned the ensuing 63-yard punt for 46 yards to the Philly 40, setting Mayfield and the offense up with great field position. But the offense didn’t do anything with it, turning the ball over on downs after gaining only seven yards.

But after the Buccaneer defense got another stop, the offense finally struck for a big play. Mayfield fired the ball downfield on the run and somehow, some way, the ball evaded two Eagles defenders and fell into the arms of Emeka Egbuka, who took it the rest of the way for a 77-yard touchdown. With that, Tampa Bay was within 24-13 with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

The momentum stayed with the home team from there, with Vita Vea picking up his second sack of the day to drop Hurts on third down, forcing another punt. But it all flipped shortly thereafter, as Bucky Irving lost the ball deep in Buccaneer territory as he was being taken down to the ground. The initial call on the field was a fumble recovered by the Eagles and despite the replay showing pretty clearly that the ground had caused the fumble and Irving was down, the call stood and Philadelphia took over at the Tampa Bay 25.

A short while later, Saquon Barkley scored with ease to put the Eagles up 31-13.

Tampa Bay wouldn’t go quietly, though. The offense responded with another explosive play as Mayfield found Bucky Irving down the sideline and watched as the second-year running back took it the rest of the way for a 72-yard touchdown. That made it 31-20, and after a Chris Braswell third-down sack ended the third quarter, Mayfield and Co. got the ball back to start the fourth, trailing by 11.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and Eagles CB Cooper DeJean – Photo by: USA Today

The Eagles gave the Bucs some free yards with roughing the passer and pass interference penalties on the ensuing possession, and while the drive eventually stalled, a 58-yard McLaughlin field goal got the home team improbably within one score at 31-23 with 12:16 to go.

Philly went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, thanks in large part to a third-down pass breakup by rookie Benjamin Morrison in coverage on A.J. Brown. And a 27-yard punt return by Kameron Johnson to the Eagles’ 47-yard line gave the Buccaneer offense good field position as it looked to potentially tie the game late.

A third-down pass interference penalty helped the drive stay alive, then Mayfield found Godwin for 11 yards on 3rd & 9. But on the next play, Mayfield made the mistake of all mistakes, scrambling around for a bit too long before lofting the ball into the arms of a waiting Jihaad Campbell in the end zone. That was the Bucs’ second turnover of the day and Mayfield’s first interception of the season, and it came at a critical time.

The Eagles promptly went three-and-out from there, giving the Bucs offense another chance to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Tampa Bay quickly faced a 4th & 1 at their own 31, but picked it up with a run by Rachaad White as the clock ticked under four minutes.

An 18-yard screen pass to Irving and a 7-yard scramble by Mayfield on a 3rd & 6 kept the drive going as the clock hit 1:56 for the two-minute warning.

But on the other side of the break, Mayfield was sacked to set up a 3rd & 23. An 11-yard pass to White set up 4th & 12, which was for the game. Tampa Bay couldn’t convert and that was that, as the comeback fell painfully short and the team fell to 3-1. The Eagles took a safety to run out the clock on the game’s final play, making it a final score of 31-25.

Baker Mayfield finished the day 22-of-40 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and a costly interception. Bucky Irving and Emeka Egbuka’s big touchdown catches took both of them over 100 yards for the afternoon, with Irving leading the way at 102 and Egbuka finishing with 101. It was the first career 100-yard receiving game for both players. Irving also ran 15 times for 63 yards, averaging a solid 4.2 yards per carry.

In his return to action, Chris Godwin Jr. caught just three of his 10 targets for 26 yards.

The Bucs defense showed up big in the second half, holding the Eagles to only seven points, which came off a turnover deep in Tampa Bay territory. Two sacks from Vita Vea and an overall 11 tackles for loss by the group helped keep the team in it until the end.

Ultimately, it was the slow start by the offense, the two turnovers and the blocked punt in the first quarter that held Todd Bowles’ team back from a 4-0 start and a statement win.

The Bucs (3-1) will now hit the road in Week 5 for a matchup against the Seahawks (3-1) in Seattle. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.