Mike Evans Building Legendary Legacy

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans notched his 11th straight 1,000 receiving-yard season.

It is the most consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards to start a career and tied Jerry Rice for most consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards.

And it was absolutely a close call to keep the streak alive.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Evans needed 35 more yards to crack 1,000.

Buccaneers’ second to last offensive drive of the day:

• Evans 9-yard reception – 26 yards away from 1,000
• Evans 9-yard reception – 17 yards left away from 1,000
• Evans 12-yard reception – 5 yards left away from 1,000

Holding a 27-19 lead late in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints, the Buccaneers defense forced a turnover on downs.

The Saints did not have enough timeouts to stop the clock, so the Buccaneers could have essentially taken a knee and wrapped up the NFC South.

Evans and the Buccaneers offense trotted out onto the field and lined up for a play, with Evans needing five more yards for 1,000 yards on the season.

The Buccaneers lined up trips left and ran a pair of double-slant routes. The slants cleared out the flat for Evans, who ran a short out route and was wide open for a nine-yard catch-and-run, putting him over 1,000 yards on the season.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1876015161951306000

Entering Week 12, Evans’ 1,000-yard streak was in peril. He had 403 yards. He picked up 118 yards, his first 100-yard game of the season in an overtime win over the Carolina Panthers, to keep his streak within reach. Evans finished the season going for 69, 159, 69, 97 and 89 receiving yards in Weeks 13-18.

The 31-year-old also played just 14 games this season, his fewest since 2019.

He cracked 85 yards for the first time against the Saints since 2018. On Sunday, Evans had 89 yards. He’s averaged 49.4 yards for his career against the Saints.

This is Evans’ closest call to jeopardizing his streak since 2017, his fourth season, when he had 1,001 yards. In the last game against the Saints, Evans had 946 yards and hauled in 55 to surpass 1,000.

Evans finishes the season with 74 catches, 1,004 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns.