Buccaneers' Mike Evans extends his own bonkers 1,000-yard record
01/05/2025 06:16 PM
Baker Mayfield got hit with a Pro Bowl snub, but he had a unique perspective on Mike Evans' chase of a 1,000-yard season. And Evans got there Sunday, extending his bonkers record, according to a post on X by Ari Meirov.
The #Bucs had the game in the bag. They made sure to get Mike Evans the ball. WHAT A MOMENT.
Evans finished with 89 yards on nine catches. He capped the 1,000-yard chase with a nine-yard reception on the final play of the Buccaneers 27-19 playoff-clinching win over the Saints.
Buccaneers take risk for WR Mike Evans’ record
Evans finished the season with 1,004 yards. And Mayfield made sure it happened. The Buccaneers even took a gamble on losing their playoff berth. They could have taken a knee to end the game, but instead threw the football to Evans, who entered the last play five yards short of extending his NFL record of 10 consecutive beginning-of-career seasons with at least 1,000 yards.
Evans pushed it to 11 thanks to Mayfield, who guaranteed it would happen if the Bucs won the game.
“Let’s put things in perspective: You’re talking about somebody who has all these receiving records across NFL history," Mayfield said before the game. "You’re talking about somebody who has consistently been somebody in this community that has raised people up. Continued to be the face of this franchise and be there for people.
“So, that record is important for us, to get him to that. Obviously, winning is the most important part, but those two things go hand in hand. Mike’s a huge part of this offense, a huge part of this passing game. So, getting him involved early and often is a lot of the reason we’ve had success.
“Those things go hand in hand and the most important thing is winning. But how I see it playing out is, if we win then Mike’s getting the record. So, focus on winning and get him the ball. Mike won’t say anything about it. That’s just who he is. That’s why we love him, that’s why everybody loves him, that’s why he’s been so consistent for so long. It’s never been about just himself.”
Notice how many times Mayfield said winning stood at the top of the importance list. And yet, the Buccaneers risked the victory to get the record. You make the call on whether the Buccaneers did the right thing by manufacturing the record when they should have taken a knee.
If they had to throw three straight incomplete passes trying to get Evans the ball, would they have risked a fourth-down throw while deep in their own territory? It looks for all the world that they made a mockery of winning being the most important thing.
The post Buccaneers’ Mike Evans extends his own bonkers 1,000-yard record appeared first on ClutchPoints.
