The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be lamenting a horror first half that saw the Philadelphia Eagles race out to a 24-6 halftime lead, which served as the catalyst for their first loss of the year.
While the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield made it a game in the second half, the 31-25 loss was mostly down to the poor first half, as Tampa Bay couldn't get anything rolling offensively.
And for a team that has talked all season about starting fast, in the biggest game of the year to date, they laid an egg in the first half.
And Mayfield was blunt in his thoughts on that first half.
"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 four, this should piss us off," Mayfield said. "We've talked about starting fast, playing better ball, and we did not do that."
More: Baker Mayfield reveals 1 key reason Buccaneers lost to Eagles
Buccaneers fail first test of season vs. Eagles
Tampa Bay was 3-0 heading into Week 4, and many were waiting to see how it would do against its first true test of the season. In the first half, it was a brutal failure.
Yes, the second half was sublime, but against an opponent like the Eagles, you can't start so poorly, and the Buccaneers were down 24-6 in the blink of an eye.
Granted, it's not the end of the world being at 3-1, but as far as playoff seedings, it might have big ramifications with some seeing Tampa Bay as an NFC contender.
Well, if they put up first halves like that too often, the Buccaneers won't be challenging for much in 2025.
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