After three dramatic wins in three weeks, the Bucs will face their biggest test of the season thus far when the 3-0, defending Super Bowl champion Eagles visit Raymond James Stadium this Sunday afternoon.

This will easily be the marquee matchup of the 1:00 p.m. window in Week 4, as these are two of the only three undefeated teams left in the NFC. If both sides continue on the trajectories they're on, this game could have big playoff seeding implications.

Tampa Bay will be looking for the fourth 4-0 start in franchise history and its first since 2005, the team's 30th season. Of course, this past Sunday featured a whole lot of fanfare around the Bucs' 50th season. Keeping with that theme and given that it's been something they've done in the past, expect to see Ronde Barber's pick-six in the January 2003 Bucs-Eagles NFC Championship Game a couple of times this week.

This game starts a tough stretch of games for Todd Bowles and Co., as they face the Eagles, Seahawks (away), 49ers and Lions (away) in the next four weeks. On the other side, Nick Sirianni's squad is nearing the end of a tough run of games, as they saw the Chiefs in Week 2 and the Rams in Week 3 before this game. In Week 5, they'll host the 2-1 Broncos.

Before we dive further in our "What to Watch For" preview later this week, here's a general preview of Sunday's matchup between the Bucs and Eagles in Tampa:

The Last Time…

Interestingly enough, the Bucs and Eagles last met in Week 4 of the 2024 season at the same time and in the same place. Back then, a banged-up Philadelphia team came into Tampa without wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, as well as right tackle Lane Johnson. The Bucs took advantage, storming out to a 24-0 lead before winning 33-16.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In fact, the Bucs had that 24-0 lead before the Eagles even picked up a first down. Baker Mayfield found Mike Evans for a 2-yard touchdown on the home team's opening drive, then connected with Trey Palmer on the second drive. After Cooper DeJean muffed a punt in Eagles territory, Tampa Bay made it a 21-0 game with a Mayfield touchdown run from a yard out. Chase McLaughlin's 21-yard field goal halfway through the second then made it a 24-0 game before Philly finally put a touchdown drive together.

The Eagles only ever got as close as 24-14, as a Bucky Irving touchdown run and another McLaughlin field goal helped the Bucs close out a 33-16 win.

Mayfield finished that game 30-of-47 for 347 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a rushing touchdown. Mike Evans was the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. For the Buccaneers defense, Lavonte David had two sacks and Anthony Nelson, Vita Vea, Logan Hall and Yaya Diaby added sacks of their own. Ben Stille and J.J. Russell recovered fumbles in the win as well.

The all-time regular season series between these two teams is tied at 9-9. But including the playoffs, the Bucs have won six of the last seven meetings over the Eagles and are 4-1 against the Birds since 2021. That .800 winning percentage is the highest of any team that has played the Eagles multiple times during that span.

How The Bucs And Eagles Are Trending

Both of these teams come in at 3-0, but neither squad has taken the prettiest of paths to get here.

The Bucs have beaten the Falcons, 23-20, the Texans, 20-19 and the Jets, 29-27, needing scores in the final minute of each game to get those wins. In doing so, they became the first team in the Super Bowl era with a game-winning score in the final minute of the fourth quarter in each of their first three games.

On one hand, you could say Tampa Bay has yet to play a real complete game and the fact that last-minute heroics have been needed to beat three teams with a combined record of 1-8 could mean trouble. However, let's add some context.

Two of those wins came on the road, with one coming in primetime, where the team was 0-5 last season. Plus, those two road wins were against teams that came into the season with legitimate playoff hopes, and despite their 1-2 and 0-3 records, respectively, still may have playoff-caliber rosters.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

There's also the fact that the Bucs have gotten to 3-0 and come through with these late-game heroics despite several impact players going down with injuries. They started the year without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and four-time 1,000-yard wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr.. Since then, they've lost defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and right guard Cody Mauch for the season and are currently without right tackle Luke Goedeke. Not to mention, Mike Evans will miss Sunday's game and potentially a couple or a few more after that.

So, with the injury crisis taken into consideration, there's less room to raise an eyebrow at Tampa Bay squeaking by Atlanta, Houston and the New York Jets in the first three weeks. Instead, there's more room to be impressed with how this team has weathered the storm thus far. The fact that help is on the way with Wirfs and Godwin returning as soon as this Sunday should only give the Bucs more confidence going forward.

Baker Mayfield has been nails and deserves a ton of credit for what he's been able to do behind a makeshift offensive line that has yet to play a game with its originally planned lineup and won't at any point this season now with Mauch's injury. Mayfield hasn't just been finding ways to win through the air — he has, at times, put the run game on his back as well, averaging a team-leading 9.7 yards per carry thanks to some key scrambles. The emergence of rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has been a significant help for the offense, too, as has the mind of new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard.

The Bucs defense also deserves a whole lot of credit for the team's 3-0 start. They have limited the explosive downfield plays that plagued them far too often last year. They have eight sacks as a unit through three games, which ties for fifth-most in the league, plus the group got its first two takeaways of the season last week, with one leading to a defensive score. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Jamel Dean have all been exceptional on the back end of the defense thus far, and that has been a huge boost for Todd Bowles' side of the ball.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and CB Zyon McCollum and Eagles RB Saquon Barkley – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On the Eagles' side, they aren't quite dealing with the level of injuries the Bucs are. But their 3-0 start to their Super Bowl defense has been impressive in its own right given the schedule they've faced thus far.

They faced a tough fight from the rival Cowboys on opening night, getting by with a 24-20 win. Then came a hard-fought 20-17 win in a Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium before last week's 33-26 win over the Rams. In that game, they erased a 26-7 second-half deficit to stun a good Rams team and remain undefeated.

The Philly offense hasn't been overly spectacular to start this season, with Jalen Hurts averaging just 159.7 passing yards per game and top receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith both being held under 50 yards per game. That typically wouldn't raise any alarm bells given that the run game is the strength for the Eagles offense, but the rushing attack hasn't been the same thus far, either.

Saquon Barkley is still Saquon Barkley, but he's not on the type of pace he was on last year when he ran for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. Through three games, he's averaging only 3.3 yards per carry and has just 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Hurts does have four rushing touchdowns already, and the tush push is still as effective as ever.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and Eagles TE Dallas Goedert – Photo by: USA Today

The passing game did pick up for the Eagles after they fell behind the Rams last week, with Hurts finding Dallas Goedert for a 33-yard touchdown, Brown for a 9-yard score and Smith for a 4-yard score to bring Philly back. Then, when it looked like the Rams would boot a game-winning field goal at the buzzer, Jordan Davis blocked it — his second blocked kick of the day — and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles defense has so much talent at every level, and while there have been some holes exposed at times this season, this is still a formidable unit full of playmakers. Linebacker Zack Baun has remained one of the highest-graded players on the Philly defense, but he has some company now in the form of 2025 first-round pick Jihaad Campbell, who is off to a fantastic start so far in his rookie season. The secondary features 2024 breakout stars Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, though Mitchell is off to a bit of a middling start to the 2025 campaign. Rookie safety Andrew Mukuba is looking like a great second-round pick already, though.

The Philly front seven is typically a major strength, and it still may be. But that group hasn't played up to its potential through the first three weeks, getting gashed for 133.3 rushing yards per game and totaling only 2.5 sacks. Davis and Moro Ojomo have one each, while Za'Darius Smith has a half-sack. Jalen Carter is without a sack, though he didn't play in the season opener after getting ejected before the first snap for spitting. The fact that Carter is off to a slow start and Nolan Smith was just placed on injured reserve could be problematic for the Eagles, though their front seven will still have a chance to take advantage of the Bucs' depleted offensive line.

Here's how the Bucs and Eagles stack up heading into Week 4:

Bucs Offense: T-12th in scoring offense (24.0 PPG), 15th in total offense (322.3 yards per game), 22nd in passing offense (191.7 yards per game), 7th in rushing offense (130.7 yards per game)

Eagles Offense: 8th in scoring offense (25.7 PPG), 27th in total offense (268.7 yards per game), 29th in passing offense (146.7 yards per game), 14th in rushing offense (122.0 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: 17th in scoring defense (22.0 points allowed per game), 12th in total defense (297.0 yards allowed per game), 19th in passing defense (213.0 yards allowed per game), 6th in rushing defense (84.0 yards allowed per game)

Eagles Defense: 15th in scoring defense (21.0 points allowed per game), 18th in total defense (319.0 yards allowed per game), 11th in passing defense (185.7 yards allowed per game), 24th in rushing defense (133.3 yards allowed per game)

As of Wednesday night, the Bucs are 3.5-point underdogs, with the Over/Under set at 43.5 (per Hard Rock Bet).

Bucs vs. Eagles Game Information

When: Sunday, September 28
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: FOX – Kevin Burkhardt (Play by Play), Tom Brady (Analyst), Erin Andrews & Tom Rinaldi (Reporters)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramática (Reporter)