TAMPA, Fla. – As much as the Eagles accomplished an all-phases victory a week earlier in New Orleans, all three phases of the team struggled on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium as Philadelphia lost to the Buccaneers 33-16 to fall to 2-2 for the season.

"It wasn't the best showing for us, but what I do like is we're going to be healthy coming off this bye. We're 2-2 and it's like, 'What do you do?' It's how you respond and as long as we're not pointing fingers and are trying to get better, by the end of the season, we should be getting stronger," Brandon Graham said after the game.

In very fast order the Eagles were in a hole that got deeper and deeper throughout much of the first half, and when they had a chance to narrow the gap and maybe climb back in things, a key giveaway and the defense's inability to get off the field stunted the potential comeback.

Injuries certainly played a factor for a struggling offense that missed three key starters (wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and right tackle Lane Johnson), and Philadelphia's defense could not get off the field enough against a Tampa Bay offense that moved the ball with a quick-passing game and an efficient running attack.

Some observations from a game that sends the Eagles into the bye week with some real questions to answer when they start the season again in two weeks against Cleveland at Lincoln Financial Field …

1. Slow start for defense … and it continued

Tampa Bay's game plan was obvious from the very start: The Bucs drove 79 yards on 10 plays to score a first-drive touchdown and quarterback Baker Mayfield led the way with 8 completions in 9 attempts for 62 yards and he got the ball out so fast the Eagles just couldn't react to the three-step drops and short passing game that Mayfield executed so perfectly. The Eagles couldn't generate a pass rush, gave up four first downs, and were unable to stop the Bucs on two third downs. Missed tackles hurt the Eagles early and, unfortunately, continued throughout the game.

Then Tampa Bay drove 80 yards on 5 plays on its next possession and Mayfield completed all four of his passes for 76 yards and just like that it was 14-0. Mayfield completed 13 of his first 14 passes for 144 yards.

After such a terrific outing in New Orleans, the Eagles allowed Tampa Bay to gain 445 total net yards and 29 first downs and possess the football for 36 minutes, 19 seconds.

2. A first half to forget

The Eagles generated zero net yards and zero first downs on offense in six first-quarter plays. Tampa Bay put together 186 total net yards and 10 first downs, leading to 14 points. The Eagles muffed a punt when Isaiah Rodgers pushed Tampa Bay's Josh Hayes into Cooper DeJean, who tried to call a fair catch and instead lost the football and Tampa Bay had a possession on the Philadelphia 22-yard line. Early in the second quarter, Tampa Bay completed the drive with a Mayfield keeper into the end zone and after the PAT, the Bucs led 21-0.

"We obviously didn't start well, down 24-0 to start things off. Obviously, no excuse for that. We didn't come out - we didn't coach well enough and we didn't play well enough," Head Coach Nick Sirianni said.

"I didn't have the guys ready to start. But, our fundamentals weren't what we needed it to be. We'll make sure we're working hard on that – bye week is coming at a good time. We've got to get our bodies right and we've got to make some changes as far as what's going on fundamentally. Early on in the game, I thought we had some missed tackles – thought we had a couple drops. Those are going to stop drives and those are going to extend drives – and that's where it's going to have to start with fundamentals. Then, it's going to be looking at what kind of positions we are putting the guys in. But, yeah – we didn't play well enough and coach well enough fundamentally, penalty-wise – everything."

3. An eventful day for special teams

DeJean had the muff and then on a late first-half punt collided with Kelee Ringo on a play that had a no-harm, no-foul element to it, but clearly, there are some bugs to work out with Britain Covey on Injured Reserve. Those two plays would have been enough to have a wacky kind of day on special teams, but then the Eagles struck with a big play of their own in the kicking game. Rodgers blocked Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin's PAT attempt and Ringo recovered the loose ball and raced down the left sideline 60 yards, dancing to stay inbounds, and scored to give the Eagles two points. That made the score 30-16 in the third quarter, keeping the team within two possessions. The offense then went on a drive and reached the Tampa Bay 19-yard line, only to have Bucs linebacker Lavonte David strip-sack Hurts in the pocket as Hurts was preparing to throw to an open Dallas Goedert down the seam. Tampa Bay's Ben Stille recovered for the Bucs at their 24, ending the drive.

4. Saquon Barkley is just so, so good

Had the Eagles been able to pull off a comeback from a 24-0 deficit, it would have been largely because of running back Saquon Barkley who, despite everyone in the state of Florida knowing he would be the focal point of the offense, was still productive. A 59-yard run early in the third quarter was the highlight of the running game, and Barkley's 27-yard catch and run was the big play from the passing game. He totaled 116 yards from line of scrimmage on 12 touches. Barkley has been outstanding through four games, the best player on the field in every game.

"It's tough, it's tough. But at the end of the day, it's complementary football. All three sides, all three phases, we've got to do a better job," Barkley said after the game. "I don't think we've put together a complete game or even close to a complete game so far this season. But the beauty of it is, it's not college football. You lose two games in college football (and) you're out of it. Everything we still want to accomplish is still right in front of us. We'll go into a Bye Week at a much-needed time – ironically – get healthier, come out, and get ready to roll."

5. The offense struggles

With just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Eagles had a fourth down and 39 yards to go, a poignant indication of just how tough the sledding was for an offense missing Brown, Johnson, and Smith. Center Cam Jurgens left the game with cramps and the Eagles had an offensive line of Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Tyler Steen at left guard, Landon Dickerson at center, Mekhi Becton at right guard, and Fred Johnson at right tackle, a combination that, no doubt, had very little familiarity with each other.

"I think overall I just have to play better, have to play better. Had a ton of opportunities to lead the offense and really play complementary ball and it starts with me on that side of the ball," Hurts said.

The Eagles just couldn't get into any kind of flow offensively and it certainly didn't help that Tampa Bay played with a lead the entire game. The defensive pressure from the Bucs kept the Eagles off balance, Hurts was pressured throughout and the Eagles produced only 226 total net yards and Hurts was sacked six times, with the one giveaway. The wide receivers caught 7 passes for 34 yards. Tight end Dallas Goedert caught 7 passes for 62 yards on 8 targets.

"Everything will be on the table. All that matters is that these guys continue to get better and that we as coaches get better, and that's all that matters. We're sitting at 2-2 going into our bye week and all we can do is improve and that's all we're going to try to do this upcoming week," Sirianni said.

6. The good news?

The bye week is here and it is a necessary one for the Eagles to get healthy and get back on track after the loss in Tampa. The up-and-down nature of the Eagles through four games is consistent with what we're seeing from most of the rest of the NFL. We have a long, long way to go in the 2024 season.

"Bye week is good for anybody. We have to continue to focus on us going into the bye week and doing the things we need to do. Just focus and play as a team and understand that the season is long and we have to pin on all 53 of each other," C.J. Gardner-Johnson said after the game.