The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South for the fourth consecutive year, and Mike Evans reached 1,000 receiving yards for the 11th straight season, tying Jerry Rice’s NFL record. The Buccaneers beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 on Sunday.
Evans hit the milestone with a catch on the Bucs’ final play.
“It’s been hard to do for 11 straight years, and to be tied with one of the — if not the greatest receiver of all time — it means a lot to me and my family,” Evans said. “NFC South champs, and then tied in history with Jerry Rice, so that made it that much [sweeter].”
Evans also spoke about his teammates: “I love those guys to death.”
With two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Bucs leading 20-19, quarterback Baker Mayfield attempted to pass to Evans in the end zone. A catch would have secured Evans’ 1,000 yards for the season.
However, Mayfield saw that Evans was double-covered and instead threw the ball to rookie Bucky Irving, who ran it in for a touchdown.
Mayfield commented, “Win or you’re on vacation. And nobody in this locker room wants to go on vacation.” But he also added, “S—. We won the game — great — but now I’m going to be the guy that didn’t get [Evans] 1,000 yards, so now Mike is going to have to play 11 more years.
But all jokes aside, the most important thing’s winning, but you have a little second on the sideline there to realize that you’re that close to it.”
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said, “Everybody wanted him to have it. … Obviously, Bucky, with experience, probably should have gone down, and we talked about it.”
Evans understood and didn’t complain. The Bucs had trailed by 10 points twice during the game, and it had been a tough matchup. Evans also noted that it had taken him seven years to make the playoffs, and now he was going to his fifth straight postseason.
Evans was proud of his rookie teammate, wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who caught the go-ahead touchdown with 10:18 remaining in the game on a 32-yard pass. Evans had reached out to McMillan immediately after the Bucs drafted him in April and sent him a playbook. McMillan stepped up after Chris Godwin’s season-ending ankle injury in October.
Evans, the longest-tenured player in Bucs history and one of the most charitable, has always put the team first.
“He always has. That’s why you love him,” Mayfield said. “That’s why we appreciate having him, we’re lucky to have him. He’s underappreciated throughout the media, the league, and just — he’s one of one. He deserved that.”
In the final moments of the game, the Bucs defense made a key stop. After eight plays, they forced Spencer Rattler to throw two incompletions on third-and-5 and fourth-and-5, turning the ball over on downs with 36 seconds left.
“I was hoping to get a stop, because I can’t pass up history,” Evans said. “The defense — they knew the record was on the line, too. … I knew I was going to get it. I was getting it no matter what. I knew we were going to get this ball no matter what.”
The moment had the fans at Raymond James Stadium cheering. The Bucs’ video boards displayed fans wearing No. 13 jerseys, and the team called a timeout.
Evans looked at Bowles and offensive coordinator Liam Coen, and they told him, “Go out there, we are going to try and get you this record.”
Bowles added, “It was awfully close. It was a matter of what kind of pass we were going to throw. I didn’t want an interception. We talked about screens and slants, and knew they were going to double him.”
Throughout the game, the Saints’ defenders kept focusing on Evans, saying, “Stay on 13, outside leverage, I’ve got your help inside,” Evans recalled. “They kept saying it over and over, so we knew that they were aware of the record. I’m just happy I got it.”
On the Bucs’ play from their own 32-yard line, Evans was sent in motion to the slot. The team ran a slant-flat combination, with Sterling Shepard, who was next to him, and McMillan, who was on the outside, each running slants against man coverage. Evans followed Shepard to help get him open.
McMillan explained, “We already knew what we were going to do. Mike was on the flat route, so I just knew I had to take my guy inside and have his eyes on me, and Shep did a great job of making the defender go under. I mean, we knew we had to get Mike that 1K, and we did.”
Evans caught the pass just before the Tampa Bay 35-yard line, turned, and kept his balance despite being hit by cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry and safety Will Harris. He was knocked to the ground at the 41-yard line, then jumped up and pumped his fist. McMillan ran up, hugging Evans’ helmet, and left tackle Tristan Wirfs and Shepard joined in the celebration as Evans ran toward the sideline.
“Obviously, you saw a stadium erupt, the whole sideline erupt — you can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him,” said Mayfield.
Bowles added, “He earned it. He’s done everything for this organization and this team…”
The video screens in the stadium flashed, “Etched in history: M1KE EVANS,” followed by a large “1,000” in gold letters and an image of Evans running through them. Then it showed, “1,000+ receiving yards” and “11 consecutive seasons,” with the date.
After that, it displayed a video of Evans’ family celebrating, while Evans made his way toward the fans to share the moment with them.
Evans thought about one of his idols, Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and had given Evans a personal challenge.
“He told me when I broke his record to start my career — I broke his record initially of six straight (1,000-yard seasons) to start my career — he challenged me to do it every year of my career,” Evans said.
“So, that’s always been in the back of my mind coming from one of my idols, a guy I’ve trained with, [and] a guy who has helped me get to where I am. I’ve been praying for you big bro, and I’m going to try to do what you challenged me to do.”
Evans missed three games this season due to a hamstring injury, which came at the same time the team lost Chris Godwin. The Bucs fell to 4-6 after four straight losses, heading into their Week 11 bye. However, after Evans returned in Week 12 against the New York Giants, the Bucs won five of their last six games.
The Bucs would have made the playoffs even with a loss on Sunday because the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Carolina Panthers 44-38 in overtime, finishing with an 8-9 record. With the Seattle Seahawks’ 30-25 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Bucs moved into the No. 3 seed and will now host the No. 6 Washington Commanders.
Tampa Bay was favored by 2.5 points according to ESPN BET. The Bucs had beaten Washington 37-20 in their Week 1 matchup.
Bowles said the team’s season had been shaped by challenges, including the injury of starting safety Jordan Whitehead, who went on the reserve/non-football injury list after being involved in a car accident on his way to the team’s walkthrough on Saturday morning.
Due to injuries, the Bucs were missing three starting defensive backs on Sunday, including Whitehead, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., and starting cornerback Jamel Dean. They were also without their top tight end, Cade Otton.
“[It] makes you stronger,” Bowles said. “You can’t not fail or have some bad things happen to you and be successful. We have to go through that part of it. That makes you mentally tough, it makes you resilient and helps you grow.
It helps you understand the mistakes and things you have to do better. We went through a bunch of that, as most teams do that make it do, but it helped us grow in the second half of the season and correct the things and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.”
