For weeks four and five of the NFL 2025 season, the Philadelphia Eagles played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida, and the Denver Broncos at home in Philadelphia. The Eagles went into week four at 3-0 and after weeks four and five ended at 4-1.
The week four matchup of the Eagles and Buccaneers ended in an astonishing 31-25 win. The players battled through extreme humidity, with on-field temperatures feeling like 103 degrees.
During Philadelphia’s practices the prior week, Lane Johnson and Tanner McKee returned to training as “limited participants,” but fully participated in the game. Sadly, four players were placed on the injured reserve list including outside linebacker Nolan Smith. Running back Will Shipley returned to practice as a “full participant” and participated in the week four game after a two-game DNP. For Tampa Bay, quarterback Baker Mayfield was revealed as a “limited participant” that Wednesday with a right knee injury.
The Eagles vs. The Buccaneers matchup had many notable plays. The Eagles struck first with tight end Cameron Latu blocking a punt by Tampa Bay punter Riley Dixon, which was returned by safety Sydney Brown for a 36-yard touchdown as the first points of the game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts passed the ball off to tight end Dallas Goedert for a 2-yard touchdown. Hurts completed a sneaky shovel pass to tight end Dallas Goedert for a 5-yard touchdown. Hurts handed off the ball to running back Saquon Barkley for a 6-yard touchdown. Linebacker Jihaad Campbell intercepted a crucial pass from Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield. With six seconds left in the fourth quarter, punter Braden Mann wasted the clock by faking a punt and running into the Eagles end zone. The game ended with a win for the Eagles.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell stood out during the game for their crucial contributions. Goedert scored two touchdowns for the Eagles within the first half, catching all four passes, and gaining thirty-seven receiving yards. Mitchell contributed on notable defensive plays with five tackles, a recovered tackle, and six passes defended. For Mitchell’s outstanding performance, he received NFL Defensive Player of the Week.
Tampa Bay kicker Chase McLaughlin made a historic 65-yard field goal in the second quarter. McLaughlin completed all three field goal attempts during the game from 42, 58, and 65-yards to create a new Tampa Bay franchise record, and tied for the second longest field goal in NFL history. Historically, McLaughlin has a 84.4% field goal percentage, being 135-for-160 on field goals in his entire NFL career. In the 2025 season, he is 4-4 with field goals from 50-yards or longer. McLaughlin proved that he is a kicker to be feared for the 2025 season.
The game also marked the first time Tampa Bay linebacker (and Philadelphia-area native) Haason Reddick faced off against his former team. Reddick, born and raised in Camden, New Jersey, attended Temple University and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2017 draft. He joined the Eagles in 2022, recording sixteen sacks and leading Philadelphia’s defense to the NFC Championship but losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, and anchored the defense in 2023 as well. The reunion game was memorable for Reddick, as he recorded four tackles, including a stuff, as he tackled Saquon Barkley behind the line of scrimmage for negative yardage. Reddick’s skills are surely missed on Philadelphia’s defense this year.
The week five match up between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Denver Broncos resulted in a devastating 21-17 loss for the Eagles. Although the Broncos defense is ranked among the top defenses so far in the 2025 season, and coming off an almost year winning streak for the Eagles, the Broncos were not thought of the be a dangerous team.`
Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson left the Eagles week four game in the third quarter due to a shoulder injury. He returned to practice on Oct.1 as a “limited participant” and participated in the game against the Broncos. Offensive guard Landon Dickerson was a great concern after his ankle injury in the week four game. Dickerson did not return to practice, nor participate in the game, which left the Eagles fan base devastated.
The game between the Eagles and the Broncos, although overall disappointing, offered some hope in the first three quarters. Although the Eagles did not score the first points of the game unlike the previous weeks, kicker Jake Elliot scored a 31-yard field goal. Hurts threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert, and later completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley – the final Eagles scoring opportunity.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles offense and defense were completely shut down by the Broncos. The Eagles went into the final quarter with a fourteen point lead, and gave up eighteen points. The Broncos scored two touchdowns, one including an extra two points, and a field goal to win the game.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver Devonta Smith, although not the team’s best performance, impacted the Eagles offense. Hurts completed two hundred- eighty passing yards, his most this season. Hurts also received six sacks over the course of the game, also his most in a game this season. Smith completed one hundred-fourteen receiving yards, his to most in a game this season, and received 8-10 passes thrown by Hurts. Smith was clearly Hurts’ most reliable target.
Eagles Head Coach Nick Siriani is currently facing backlash from the fanbase as the team fell apart in the final quarter. Coach Siriani emphasized in a post game press conference that Denver “made more plays and coached better than us.”
