Zack Baun went full movie critic after the win and wound up paying Baker Mayfield a compliment that landed like a punchline. Asked how slippery the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback felt on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles linebacker smiled and dropped a ‘Dodgeball' riff.
“He can dip, swoop, duck, dive, and dodge, anything pretty much. He’s super elusive, and when he takes off, it’s hard to tackle him.” Baun said, via Eagles beat writer Brooks Kubena on X, formerly Twitter.
The joke fit a game that turned chaotic after a clean start. Philadelphia built a cushion and escaped Tampa with a 31-25 win to move to 4-0, but Mayfield kept squeezing out answers. He extended plays, broke contain, and made the Eagles chase him from one hash to the other. Baun still found his moment, ripping the ball free on a blind-side hit that stalled a Buccaneers drive and showed why the Eagles brought his speed to town.
If the punchline was Baun’s line, the setup belonged to Mayfield’s fireworks. The Tampa Bay quarterback threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, including explosives that flipped momentum in a hurry. Emeka Egbuka burst free for a 77-yard score, and Bucky Irving stacked chunk gains all night on his way to 165 total yards. That kept the fourth quarter uncomfortable for a team that led by 18 at halftime. Philadelphia needed takeaways and situational stops to shut the door.
Special teams framed the margins. The Eagles landed the first haymaker when Sydney Brown scooped a blocked punt for six. Tampa Bay answered with a bit of history: Chase McLaughlin drilled a 65-yarder at the horn before halftime, the longest field goal ever in an outdoor stadium. Every yard mattered after the break when the Bucs made their late charge.
Baun’s respect didn’t soften the edge. His strip-sack will play on repeat in the defensive room this week, a reminder of how often Philadelphia got hands on the quarterback when it mattered most. The tape shows a plan: rush under control, compress Mayfield’s escape lanes, and finish.
For the Buccaneers, this felt like a gut check that showed both growth and the gap. They traded blows with a heavyweight and still left chasing details that decide games in October and beyond.
