Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans has never had less than 1,000 yards in his career. Ten consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards to begin a career is an NFL record.
After Evans missed three games and most of another with his hamstring injury, it appeared a long shot for the five-time Pro Bowler to continue his streak.
Evans, though, caught nine passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Chargers on Sunday, giving him 749 yards for the season.
He now needs to average 84 yards in the final three games to reach 1,000 yards for an 11th consecutive season.
“I’m thinking about it more than Mike is,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday, via video from Jenna Laine of ESPN. “He helped himself out, though. He put a little chunk into it. All in all, winning is the most important part, but he’s a huge part of this offense. He makes a huge difference in the explosive aspect of this offense, so trying to get him the ball someway, somehow but not forcing it. That’s not what this offense is all about. Let’s let the defense dictate where the ball is going to go based on coverage and what they’re doing. But yeah, still moving Mike around. He’s still our No. 1 guy. If it happens, it happens.”
In 2017, Evans had 1,001 receiving yards, the closest he has come to ending the streak. He has 12,429 yards for his career.
