Fitzpatrick steals show again for Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. — Courtesy of DeSean Jackson, Ryan Fitzpatrick rocked a pair of sunglasses and a partially zipped warmup jacket revealing a couple of gold chains and a large pendant resting on his chest.

“It’s nothing,” the Tampa Bay quarterback said of the garb after throwing for more than 400 yards and 2 touchdowns for the second consecutive week, leading the Buccaneers to a 27-21 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

“I think we just have to stay humble,” Fitzpatrick added, a smile crossing his face. “We’ve got to make sure we know how to handle success and all those things. We can’t change who we are.”

Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 33 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.

Jackson scored on a 75yard reception on the first play of the game, giving him 3 TDs in 2 games after having 3 all last season.

O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 4840 on the road in its season opener.

“I think we just developed a lot of confidence in the offseason and through training camp with how we worked, and the way things were going, and the rapport with the guys,” the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick said. “I think that confidence has carried over into the season.”

Nick Foles threw for 334 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.

The Super Bowl MVP’s 2-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor on fourth down trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 27-21 with 2:46 remaining. Fitzpatrick didn’t give the Eagles’ injury-decimated offense a chance to finish the comeback.

“We didn’t win every single game last year. I think people forget that,” Foles said, trying to put the loss in perspective. “There’s a lot of expectations for us, but we can’t put that kind of pressure on ourselves.”

Fitzpatrick, a 14-year veteran and one of four players in NFL history to throw TD passes for seven franchises, produced a couple first downs on Tampa Bay’s last possession to drain all but 19 seconds off the clock.

“We had our shots. I just feel like if we had got that ball back one more time, we would have a chance to try to win it,” Eagles tackle Jason Peters (Arkansas Razorbacks) said. “But we were pinned back there with 20 seconds left and we didn’t have a lot of options.”

Chris Godwin and Mike Evans had TD receptions of 8 and 4 yards, respectively, for the Bucs. Jackson, who had 2 TD receptions before leaving the season opener with a concussion, finished with 4 catches for 129 yards.