Bucs Offensive Star Wins Weekly NFC Offensive Player

After a string of mind-boggling misfires through much of the 2022 season, the downfield connection between Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Michael Evans came alive in Sunday’s 30-24 victory over the Panthers. Brady found Evans deep for three touchdowns of 63, 57 and 30 yards to help Tampa Bay overcome an early 14-0 deficit to defeat Carolina and win the NFC South title.

Both of Buc’s offensive star could have been the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his role in a win that dropped Tampa Bay to .500 at 8-8, but Evans was the winner despite Brady throwing for a season-high 432 yards, which tied his best output in his three years in Tampa Bay.

Evans earned the award for the second time in his career, joining teammate Chris Godwin as the only wide receivers in franchise history to win the award multiple times.

Brady’s three passing touchdowns were also a season-high, and he added another scoring on a 1-yard QB sneak to extend the Bucs’ lead to 30–21 with less than two minutes left in regulation. Brady completed 75 percent of his passes and threw no interception after throwing a pair of picks in each of Tampa Bay’s last three games.

Brady leads the NFL with 477 attempts and 716 completions (66.6 percent) for 4,610 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Bucs WR’s Evans, Godwin help Brady have a big day

It was almost a career day for Evans, who racked up 10 catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns – season-highs. Evans had not scored a touchdown since scoring two touchdowns against Kansas City in Week 4. 7.

Evans, who became the only Bucs player to cross the 10,000 meters earlier in the year, also topped the 1,000 meters for the ninth consecutive season. That extended his NFL record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career. With nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, Evans is tied with Tim Brown for the second-longest streak in the league at any point in a career. Only Jerry Rice (11) has more consecutive career 1,000-yard seasons.

Brady and Evans weren’t the only offensive stars with big production against the Panthers. Godwin greatly aided Brady’s passing total by contributing nine catches on target for a season-high 120 yards.

Evans now has three 100+ yards receiving games on the season, while Godwin has two. But Sunday marked the first time this year that Tampa Bay had a pair of receivers reach the century in terms of receiving yardage.

Godwin leads the Bucs with 98 catches for 968 yards and three touchdowns, needing just 32 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the third time in his career. Evans has a team-high 1,124 yards on 77 catches with six touchdowns, which is the most in Tampa Bay this season.