The Tampa Bay Buccaneers trailed the Los Angeles Chargers at halftime, needing some juice after two turnovers cost them dearly. Then, Mike Evans exploded
The star wideout found green grass on a scramble drill and Baker Mayfield hit him for a 57-yard touchdown. Two drives later, Evans toasted the Chargers defense again for a 35-yard touchdown. Boom. Halftime deficit turned into a double-digit lead. The Bucs would go on to win, 40-17, scoring the final 27 points of the game.
"I think he's a guaranteed Hall of Famer," coach Todd Bowles said of Evans, per the team's official transcript. "He steps up and plays big. You can't put a price on what he does for this team from a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint and from a team standpoint. He is everything that a player aspires to be from a mental aspect. He's tough. He does great in the community. He takes care of his body. He comes up big with plays, whether they're singling him or doubling him, and he blocks. We can't ask for anything more than what he is giving us right now."
Calling Evans a Hall of Famer shouldn't be considered a hot take -- before or after Sunday's performance. The Bucs star has been consistently great for a decade. He's currently chasing Jerry Rice's record of 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards. Evans hit the 1K mark in each of his first 10 seasons. A hamstring injury that knocked him out three games put the streak in jeopardy, but Sunday's explosion got him back on track.
Entering the game, Evans had 590 yards on 43 catches with seven touchdowns. His massive 159 yards on nine catches with two TDs puts 1,000 yards within striking distance. He needs to average 83.6 yards per game over the final three contests.
At halftime, Evans had just six catches for 44 yards with a long of 12. Like the rest of the Bucs offense, he generated explosive plays in the final two quarters as Tampa ran away with its fourth consecutive win. The first TD flipped the game around.
"I mean, obviously Mike's always had the game-changing ability within each play, but I mean the scramble play where he works all the way across the field, he's the outside receiver on the right side, works all the way across, just trying to keep my eyes downfield and he's always working," Mayfield said. "He makes that play, obviously he makes the catch, but then after the catch is the big difference there. He just keeps going. He just keeps going."
With Mayfield playing at a Pro Bowl level and Evans dominating like a Hall of Famer, the 8-6 Bucs pushed their advantage in the NFC South. Next Gen Stats gives Tampa an 81 percent chance to win the division before the Atlanta Falcons take the field Monday night.
Even with a banged-up defense, the Bucs showed they have the firepower on offense to run away from good opponents. Mayfield credited offensive coordinator Liam Coen for tapping into the diverse nature of the offensive weapons.
"I can only imagine for a defensive coordinator what it's like going against us," Mayfield said. "Personnel changes: 13 personnel (one tight end, three receivers) 21 (two backs, one tight end), 11 (one running back, one tight end). And it's just, how do you defend that? There's a lot of plays in the same formation, so it's tough to defend that."
It also helps to have a Hall of Fame receiver blasting off for 150 yards.
