Baker Mayfield’s and Bucky Irving’s key mistakes cost Bucs a chance to beat Eagles in tough Week 4 loss
The Bucs picked a bad day to commit their first turnovers of 2025.
Coming into Week 4, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of just three teams with zero turnovers on the season.
That quickly changed against the Philadelphia Eagles, however, and it’s the reason why the Bucs lost their first game of the year. The Bucs finished the game with a -2 margin, and key mistakes by stars Bucky Irving and Baker Mayfield ultimately caused Tampa Bay to fall to 3-1.
Irving’s fumble quickly added to the Bucs’ deficit
First up was Irving’s fumble, which is only the second lost fumble of his career and his first since Week 5 of last year. Irving lost the ball on a second and 5 in the third quarter, and the Eagles recovered it at the Bucs 25. It took Jalen Hurts and Co. six plays, including a key run by the Eagles QB on third and 5, to get into the end zone and make it an 18-point game.
The key with Irving’s fumble is that it led to the only Eagles’ points of the second half. The Bucs defense had also just forced three-straight three-and-outs in the second half, alone, before Irving’s fumble. The fact that Todd Bowles’ unit was placed in a bad spot was a big reason why it couldn’t get the stop.
If he doesn’t fumble, there’s a good chance it’s a one-point game in the fourth quarter instead of the 31-23 hill the Bucs eventually had to climb.
And Mayfield’s interception was the final nail in the coffin
Mayfield’s biggest goal for 2025 was cutting down the turnovers, and he’d accomplished exactly that through 15 quarters of play.
He picked the worst time of the young season to throw his first interception. There was a little less than eight minutes left in the game, and the Bucs were at the Philadelphia eight-yard line, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie up the score.
Mayfield came under pressure, but he managed to escape to his right. However, instead of just throwing the ball away, he tried to hit Chris Godwin Jr. in the end zone and threw the ball directly to Jihaad Campbell instead.
“Obviously, you gotta take care of better care of the ball,” Bowles told reporters after the game. “Baker will be the first one to tell you that, and then we can’t have the fumble with Bucky. Then you had the blocked punt for seven points. That’s three turnovers, so you’re not gonna beat the Super Bowl champs turning the ball over three times.”
Yes, the blocked punt return also played a huge role in the Bucs’ loss, but they had managed to fight back from that and make it a game by the time the mistakes happened. The fact that it came from two of the Bucs’ best players and leaders really stings, as well.
“We had momentum at that point in the game. I just have to be careful,” Mayfield said after the game. “Chris [Godwin Jr.] was there if I was able to get the right throw off, but if I’m not able to do that, just tuck it and play the next down.”
But, at the same time, we’ve seen this team bounce back in tough situations all year long. Including this game. If anyone can overcome mistakes and get back on the winning track, it’s these guys.
“Our guys are going to fight,” Mayfield said after the game. “… This group’s too damn good to start slow, and until we take accountability to that, it should piss us off. Even though it’s Week 4, this should piss us off.”
We’ll see if that happens in Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks.
