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At halftime against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, it looked like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dead in the water, down 24-6. But, the Bucs scored on their second possession of the third quarter to bring it to 24-13, and then forced an Eagles punt.
<!–qv q:id=5l q:key=vcaa:Momentum was starting to shift, until it swung the opposite way once again thanks to a Bucky Irving fumble on Tampa Bay's own 22 yard line. It was a total gut punch, but what's even worse is watching yet another angle of the so-called fumble.
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Momentum was starting to shift, until it swung the opposite way once again thanks to a Bucky Irving fumble on Tampa Bay’s own 22 yard line. It was a total gut punch, but what’s even worse is watching yet another angle of the so-called fumble.
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Based on this angle, it absolutely looks as though Irving's shin was down before the ball came loose. It isn't normally called for to blame a third quarter decision by the refs, especially in a game that seemed so one-sided. But this one? Oh, it definitely had a major impact.
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Based on this angle, it absolutely looks as though Irving’s shin was down before the ball came loose. It isn’t normally called for to blame a third quarter decision by the refs, especially in a game that seemed so one-sided. But this one? Oh, it definitely had a major impact.
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Buccaneers fans have every right to riot after seeing this alternate angle on the Bucky Irving fumble
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Buccaneers fans have every right to riot after seeing this alternate angle on the Bucky Irving fumble
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The Eagles would take over with prime field position and, in classic Philly fashion, they went on to score thanks to a tush push. That score put the Eagles up 31-13.
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The Eagles would take over with prime field position and, in classic Philly fashion, they went on to score thanks to a tush push. That score put the Eagles up 31-13.
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Now, we don't know what the Buccaneers' drive would have amounted to had Irving not fumbled. But, after a massive 77-yard touchdown from Emeka Egbuka on the previous drive, momentum was certainly on their side. The Buccaneers finally shifted the energy in this game.
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Now, we don’t know what the Buccaneers’ drive would have amounted to had Irving not fumbled. But, after a massive 77-yard touchdown from Emeka Egbuka on the previous drive, momentum was certainly on their side. The Buccaneers finally shifted the energy in this game.
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And just like that, it was taken away thanks to a missed call. That "fumble" is going to go down as a stain on an otherwise-ridiculous performance from Irving, too, who became the first Bucs player ever to have 50-plus rushing yards and 100-plus receiving yards in a game.
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And just like that, it was taken away thanks to a missed call. That “fumble” is going to go down as a stain on an otherwise-ridiculous performance from Irving, too, who became the first Bucs player ever to have 50-plus rushing yards and 100-plus receiving yards in a game.
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Irving was the best player on that side of the ball in this game, and because of one slip-up by an official, his big day was tainted.
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Irving was the best player on that side of the ball in this game, and because of one slip-up by an official, his big day was tainted.
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Say what you want about the Bucs still needing to score twice prior to that fumble, but the defense did their job. Philadelphia didn't have a single passing yard in the entire second half. You're telling me Tampa Bay couldn't have won this game?
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Say what you want about the Bucs still needing to score twice prior to that fumble, but the defense did their job. Philadelphia didn’t have a single passing yard in the entire second half. You’re telling me Tampa Bay couldn’t have won this game?
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Oh, they most certainly could have, had it not been for that single play that swung all of the momentum back in favor of the Eagles.
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Oh, they most certainly could have, had it not been for that single play that swung all of the momentum back in favor of the Eagles.
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Chalk this one down as a "character loss" if there ever was such a thing. Bucs fans can't feel too down about the loss. This one wasn't entirely on them.
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Chalk this one down as a “character loss” if there ever was such a thing. Bucs fans can’t feel too down about the loss. This one wasn’t entirely on them.