{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Football League
Tampa Bay 45, Philadelphia 17
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 22, 2015
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 48°
Head Official: Brad Allen
Attendance: 69596

PHILADELPHIA -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit the Philadelphia Eagles with a powerful one-two punch that left the Eagles reeling and left the Bucs in position to compete for an NFC wild-card playoff berth.

Quarterback Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes -- including four in the first half -- and running back Doug Martin rushed for 235 yards as the Buccaneers pounded the Eagles 45-17 on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The victory put the Bucs (5-5) one game out of a possible wild-card berth, while the Eagles (4-6) fell a game behind the idle New York Giants in NFC East.

Martin's 235 yards were the second most ever against the Eagles. The record is 237 yards, set by two of the greatest runners in NFL history -- Cleveland's Jim Brown in 1961 and Dallas' Emmitt Smith in 1993. Plus Martin set up two of the Bucs' touchdowns with runs of 58 and 84 yards.

"Everything was clicking today,'' Martin said. "This is what you strive for every week, that kind of balance on offense. And this was another big step in Jameis' growth as an NFL quarterback. It was just a great day all around.''

It was the greatest day of Winston's rookie year. The first overall pick in the 2015 draft completed 19 of 29 passes for 246 yards, with no interceptions, and his passer rating of 131.1 surpassed his previous best of 128.1 vs. Washington four weeks ago. His five TD passes tied the NFL rookie record set by Detroit's Matthew Stafford in 2009.

"First of all, hats off to our offensive line,'' Winston said. "And Doug Martin obviously played great, and when we can establish the run game like that, it's hard to stop us."

Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, subbing for injured starter Sam Bradford, completed 26 of 41 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions, including one that was returned by linebacker Lavonte David 20 yards for the Bucs' final touchdown.

"We moved the ball in spurts, but we have to be more consistent,'' Sanchez said. "They had a good (defensive) game plan for us and we just have to execute better across the board. And we have a short week (the Eagles play at Detroit on Thursday) so we've got to get things cleaned up fast."

The Eagles scored first, when Sanchez hit wide receiver Josh Huff with a 39-yard touchdown pass that gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 11:35 left in the first quarter.

The Bucs answered late in the opening period, after a mental mistake by the Eagles gave their drive new life. Winston's long pass on third down sailed incomplete, but linebacker Brandon Graham was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone. That made it third-and-1, and on the next play Martin took a pitch from Winston and ran for 58 yards before he was finally dragged down on the Eagles 8. Two plays later, Winston lofted a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Evans to make it 7-7 with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

The Bucs opened the second quarter in style, with Winston hitting wide receiver Vincent Jackson with a 13-yard touchdown pass.

Then the Bucs' big-play magic struck again. Tampa Bay had a first down on its own 15 when Martin ran through a gaping hole in the middle and broke down the sideline for an 84-yard run, holding off cornerback Nolan Carroll for the last 25 yards. That led to Winston's 4-yard TD pass to wide receiver Russell Shepard and a 21-7 lead with 8:06 left in the second quarter.

The Eagles stopped the flood of Bucs points with a big play of their own, as running back Darren Sproles turned a screen pass into a 35-yard TD that cut the lead to 21-14 with 6:04 left in the first half. But the Bucs added another touchdown on Winston's fourth TD pass of the half, a 14-yarder to running back Bobby Rainey, and Tampa Bay ran off the field at halftime leading 28-14.

The Bucs really asserted their dominance to start the second half, taking the kickoff and holding the ball for 15 plays and 9:47 and converting four third-down situations along the way. They cashed in when Winston connected with tight end Cameron Brate on an 8-yard TD pass that made it 35-14 with 5:13 left in the third quarter. The Eagles never threatened after that.

"I don't think anybody played well in any facet of the game," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. "We were sporadic on offense and we had opportunities to make plays on defense and we didn't make them."

NOTES: Eagles LT Jason Peters was back in the lineup after missing the last two games with back problems. So, RT Lane Johnson, who had moved to Peters' spot the last two weeks, was back at his old position. ... Eagles RB Ryan Mathews was deactivated because he didn't complete the NFL concussion protocol after being injured last week. ... The Bucs played without out two starters, RG Ali Marpet (ankle) and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (shoulder). They were replaced, respectively, by Evan Smith and Luke Stocker.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Tampa Bay   Philadelphia
Doug Martin Player DeMarco Murray
27 Attempts 13
235 Yards 64
8.7 Avg Yards 4.9
0 Touchdowns 0
84 Long 16
Receiving
Tampa Bay   Philadelphia
Mike Evans Player Brent Celek
4 Receptions 7
63 Yards 79
15.8 Avg Yards 11.3
1 Touchdowns 0
25 Long 18
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Tampa Bay 521 283 238 6 1 3 3.0 1
Philadelphia 383 136 247 2 1 0 1.0 3
Upcoming Games
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Eagles have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Indianapolis. The Buccaneers have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .800 after a loss.