Buccaneers loss to Eagles in Week 4 wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed

While things didn't go the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' way on Sunday, the 31-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed -- or could have been.

Unlike the previous three weeks, the Bucs were unable to erase prior mistakes and pull out a last-minute victory. Their good luck finally ran out, which was evident right out of the gate, but it's the sort of game that fans need to go full Memento on; moral victories don't count in the standins but for the Bucs it counted for more than it should have on Sunday.

After falling into a 24-6 hole at halftime, Tampa Bay clawed its way back to be within a score with (you guessed it) less than two minutes left in the game. Mistakes like the blocked punt for a touchdown or a brutal Baker Mayfield interception in the redzone were too big to overcome, but they don't erase the fact that the Bucs' offense scored twice from 70 yards out and found a way to turn a blowout into a nail-biter.

Buccaneers turned a blowout loss into something to build on in Week 4

Most of the credit goes to two of the team's most important players. Emeka Egbuka helped the offense come roaring to life with a 77-yard touchdown, which was followed by a 72-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Irving a few drives later.

Smashed in between those two scoring drives was one that ended in a fumble, which sort of makes the point of the game not being as bad as it seemed. It's never good to turn the ball over -- which the Bucs did more in this game than they have all season -- but the way Tampa Bay didn't let it faze them is what stands out.

Time and time again, we've seen teams crumble in those sorts of situations. Twice in one game, the Bucs fought back and refused to give up. They didn't fold while down 24-6 at halftime, and didn't let what should have been two momentum-crushing turnovers stop them from being in a position to tie the game with under two minutes left.

Don't forget the defense, though. As much as the first half stunk, the defense needs to get some flowers for clamping down in the second half -- something we've seen happen a number of times under Todd Bowles.

Philly recorded zero passing yards in the second half, which feels like a fake stat, but is how hard the Bucs defense punched back to try and get back into the game.

Keep in mind that this is not a complete team right now. The Bucs got both Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs back but were missing Mike Evans and Luke Goedeke -- two very significant losses that could have swung the game Tampa Bay's way.

The Bucs were also missing Calijah Kancey and Cody Mauch, something that was felt in the lack of a pass rush on defense and a truly abysmal right side of the offensive line. Both of those guys are out for the season but the Bucs will be getting Evans and Goedeke back, which is something that takes a little bit of the sting off Sunday's loss.

If the Bucs were able to fight back the way they did and nearly win with a depleted team missing some key players, the hope is that it's an indication of good things to come. There's a ton that needs to get cleaned up -- most notably special teams -- but the loss was not as crushing as it seemed or could have been.

A loss is never something to take lightly, but we can't be as negative as it seemed we would be given how the game started. While Tampa Bay has a lot to work on, the way the game ended feels a lot more meaningful than the gnarly road the team took to get there.

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