2-Point Conversion: Mike Evans’ Place In Bucs History May Surprise You

It’s time for Scott Reynolds’ post-game 2-Point Conversion column, which features two big statements, two probing questions and two bold predictions.

The Bucs improved to 5-7 and snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the 1-11 Panthers, 21-18, in a rain-soaked Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. were the stars for Tampa Bay, as they have been all season. A Bucs win combined by a Saints loss on Sunday makes this week’s game at Atlanta against the 6-6 Falcons a do-or-die contest for Tampa Bay’s hopes of three-peating as NFC South champions.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1: Mike Evans’ Place In Bucs History May Surprise You

What more can be said about the ever-growing legend of Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans?

In his illustrious 10-year career in Tampa Bay, Evans has gone from being a Top 10 pick to becoming a Pro Bowl receiver early in his tenure. He’s gone from being the best receiver in Tampa Bay history to the greatest offensive player in franchise history. Evans has gone from being a future Bucs Ring of Honor member to a future Hall of Famer. He’s gone from being a receiver who has rewritten the record books in Tampa Bay to rewriting the record books in the NFL.

With an 11-yard catch in the fourth quarter of the Bucs’ 21-18 win over the Panthers, Evans went over 1,000 yards for the 10th straight season, which adds one more year to his nearly untouchable NFL record of consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career. With one more 1,000-yard season, Evans, who caught seven passes for 162 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown against Carolina, will match Jerry Rice’s record for the most 1,000-yard seasons in an NFL career.

Evans is just 30 and has only played for a decade. Rice played 20 seasons in the league and retired when he was 42. If Evans stays healthy, he will finish his career with more 1,000-yard seasons than any other receiver in history. How many is up to Evans, who shows no signs of slowing down.

“I think Mike can play as long as he wants to, his drive and desire are there – I don’t have a timetable on it right now, maybe he can answer that question, I don’t but I would like him to play for as long as he wants to,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “I don’t know what more you can say, he’s been like this for 10 years now. Over 60 catches 10 years in a row, over 1,000 yards 10 years in a row. You know he’s getting the ball and everybody’s trying to stop him – he makes plays over and over, it’s a credit to him, his work ethic, the way he approaches the game, unbelievable.”

It’s not enough to label Evans a future Hall of Famer anymore. And calling him a future Bucs Ring of Honor member, while certainly appropriate, kind of cheapens his legacy because it’s not nearly praiseworthy enough. And that’s not to demean the prestigious Bucs Ring of Honor by any means.

From the team’s roots in Tampa Bay in 1976 with the selection of Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon as the franchise’s first-ever draft pick, the Bucs have been known for defense. From the fabled 1979 defense to the defense that Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin helped construct that led to a dominant win in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002 to Todd Bowles’ unit that helped keep Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City out of end zone in winning Super Bowl LV, defense has been the calling card in Tampa Bay.

So it’s only fitting that in the fictional Bucs Mount Rushmore that the four legends would all be defensive players – Selmon and a trio of other Bucs Hall of Famers in Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber.

But the moment Evans gets enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when his playing days are done, there will be a change on the fictitious Bucs Mount Rushmore. Evans will replace Selmon and take his rightful place in Bucs immortality as one of Tampa Bay’s four best players of all-time.

Selmon still holds the Bucs’ all-time sack record by one sack over Sapp, but Sapp has the benefit of a Super Bowl ring, more Pro Bowl berths and being on more All-Pro teams. Selmon was the 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but Sapp earned that distinction too in 1999.

Brooks gets the nod over Selmon for the same reasons as Sapp. With 11 Pro Bowls and being on nine All-Pro teams, Brooks is the most decorated Buccaneer of all-time, in addition to winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award the same year Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl in 2002.

Barber, who is the Bucs’ all-time leading interceptor, gets the nod over Selmon for having the franchise’s signature play – his 92-yard pick-six in the NFC Championship Game that propelled Tampa Bay to Super Bowl XXXVII. No other Buccaneer played as long in Tampa Bay as Barber did for 16 seasons. Barber gets the nod over Selmon for being the only NFL defender with at least 40 interceptions and 25 sacks, as well as winning a championship.

And that brings us to Evans, who has done something that no other NFL player has done with 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. Evans should pass Detroit’s Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, who is in the conversation for being one of the most elite receivers ever, in the receiving yardage ranks later this season. With three more 1,000-yard seasons, Evans will be in the Top 10 in terms of all-time receiving yardage.

Evans and his 13 touchdown catches also helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl in 2020. Not all Hall of Famers are created equal, and the ones with Super Bowl rings deserve more notoriety in Tampa Bay. For that reason, when Evans eventually makes the Hall of Fame, he will displace Selmon on the Bucs Mount Rushmore and become the only offensive player to achieve that legendary status.

STATEMENT 2: Antoine Winfield’s Magical Season Continues

Considering the fact that Baker Mayfield threw for 202 yards in Tampa Bay’s 21-18 win over Carolina and Mike Evans accounted for 162 of those yards, one could surmise that Evans carried the team on his back for the victory. But football is a team game with offense, defense and special teams. And as much as Evans did for the Bucs offense, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. did as much for Tampa Bay’s defense.

Winfield continued his season-long trend of being a one-man-gang, leading the Bucs with eight tackles, registering a sack and picking off a key pass in the fourth quarter to help preserve Tampa Bay’s fifth win of the season. He now has 89 tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a career-high 11 pass breakups this season, which is Winfield’s contract year.

“Oh he’s been great, he got a sack as well earlier,” Bowles said. “He can see the ball very well from back there – I think leaving him back there this year instead of putting him at nickel has been great. Just putting him down there some, where he can make plays but he’s starting to catch them, if catches all the ones they throw to him, he’ll be great and he caught one today and he makes play after play, week after week.”

As important as Evans has been to the Bucs offense, Winfield has been the equivalent to Tampa Bay’s defense. Bucs season MVP honors might have to be split down the middle between the two.

That’s two big checks that Bucs general manager Jason Licht and assistant G.M. Mike Greenberg are going to have to cut to Evans and Winfield next year. There is no way the Bucs can afford to let either player leave Tampa Bay in free agency.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: Where Is J.J. Russell’s Game Ball?

Good question. J.J. Russell, who has spent much of the last two seasons on Tampa Bay’s practice squad, played a heck of a game filling in for injured starter Lavonte David (groin) and backup SirVocea Dennis (illness) at Mo linebacker on Sunday.

But seven snaps into the game, K.J. Britt, who was filling in for the injured Devin White (foot), suffered a back injury and did not return. That meant that Russell was the lone linebacker left and had to assume the play-calling duties for the defense and play Mike linebacker.

Russell finished with seven tackles (six solo) and his first NFL sack and earned an impressive 79.2 Pro Football Focus grade versus the Panthers. Yet it was strong safety Ryan Neal who got a game ball from head coach Todd Bowles for being an emergency fill-in at linebacker. That’s certainly understandable, and Neal did have four tackles and made a big tackle for loss. But where’s Russell’s game ball?

“J.J. did a heck of a job, he even got a sack just coming up [from the practice squad] – he gets very little reps and to come in and play like he played today – and Ryan came in early for K.J.,” Bowles said after the game. “Ryan played linebacker all of one day of practice, so that was huge for him and he did some of those things in Seattle and we saw it. He had a walk-through and he had a couple reps and he went in there and he played a hell of a game and he got a game ball as well as Mike [Evans].”

Doesn’t the former practice squad player deserve one, too?

QUESTION 2: Can The Bucs Lose At Atlanta And Still Win The Division?

Technically, yes – but not really. A win by Tampa Bay at Atlanta on Sunday would mean that the Bucs and Falcons would have identical 6-7 records and identical 3-1 records in the NFC South. Yet the Bucs would have the tiebreaker due to their record versus common opponents. Tampa Bay beat Minnesota and Tennessee while Atlanta did not, so that would give the Bucs a temporary tiebreaker advantage with four games left in the season.

A loss at Atlanta would mean the Falcons would be 7-6 and a perfect 4-0 in the division. Atlanta would then finish the year at Carolina, versus Indianapolis, at Chicago and at New Orleans to end the season.

That’s a far easier slate than the Bucs, who would have to essentially win out and hope Atlanta loses both divisional games at Carolina and at New Orleans. The Bucs finish the year at Green Bay, home versus Jacksonville and New Orleans and then a road game at Carolina.

A loss to the Falcons on Sunday just about closes the door on the NFC South title hopes in Tampa Bay.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: Mike Evans Will Be Re-Signed By The Bucs

Mike Evans is having a monster contract year with 61 catches for 1,012 yards (16.6 avg.) and 10 touchdowns. He’s on pace to finish with 86 catches for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns, which would be one of his finest seasons in his first 10 years in Tampa Bay. The 30-year old Evans is poised to receive a big raise from some team over the $16.5 million per year deal he’s currently playing on.

The guess here is that Evans tests the free agent market in March, gets a number and the Bucs match it or come close enough to get a hometown discount to keep him in red and pewter. General manager Jason Licht understands how important Evans is to the Bucs organization – and the Bucs offense. And so do the Glazers. Evans’ 162 receiving yards on seven catches on Sunday accounted for 51% of Tampa Bay’s 322 total yards versus Carolina.

PREDICTION 2: The Minute The Bucs Are Out Of The Playoff Race, It’s Kyle Trask Time

If the Bucs lose at Atlanta on Sunday or the following week at Green Bay and are just about dead and buried in the NFC South division chase or the NFC playoff chase, look for Tampa Bay to turn to Kyle Trask to see what the team has in the former second-round pick. Trask showed some promise and improvement during training camp and the preseason, but has rarely played in meaningful regular season games over his first three years in Tampa Bay.

Playing Trask could also help solidify a better draft pick in the first round. Not that the Bucs would intentionally tank, but playing a young, inexperienced quarterback like Trask could result in more turnovers than a seasoned veteran like Baker Mayfield might produce. And turnovers usually lead to losses.

For you Traskaholics, get ready.

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