Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans logged his 11th straight season with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Credit: Photo via Buccaneers

The Buccaneers made things far more interesting than they needed to be against a middling division rival playing for nothing with their rookie backup quarterback taking snaps. But Tampa Bay pulled it out, taking home a 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd that grew more eclectic as the game went on at Raymond James Stadium.

Tampa Bay also made some wonderful history, helping franchise wideout Mike Evans secure his 11th consecutive season with at least 1,000 receiving yards, tying Jerry Rice’s record for that mark and extending Evans’ own record for most consecutive seasons with that mark to start someone’s career.

Evans achieved the milestone in dramatic fashion, with an end-of-game nine-yard catch called while the Bucs were already ahead by eight points with the option to kneel the clock out. But the Bucs couldn’t pass up the chance to help their guy rewrite the history books, and the fans went nuts because of it, putting an exclamation mark on a roller-coaster regular season that ended with the Bucs as NFC South champs for the fourth straight season.

Big congrats to @MikeEvans13_ for tying Jerry Rice’s record with 11 consecutive 1000-yard seasons! 🏉 Well deserved brother, we are all pumped for you here at @NFLonFOX.

Couldn’t have happened to a better guy both on and off the field 👊 pic.twitter.com/pVHtSu53JU
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) January 5, 2025

But things looked bleak to start, with the Bucs going into halftime down 16-6 and the fourth quarter down 19-13.

But quarterback Baker Mayfield submitted a ballsy (if not perfect) performance where he set a career high in rushing yards, scrambling for 68 yards for the day.

After Baker galvanized the team with some of his signature “Oh no, oh no, oh yes!” plays where he put himself in harms way trying to fight for extra yardage, the Bucs looked poised to take the lead by managing to get a first-and-goal inside the 10 after a huge catch from rookie receiver Jalen McMillan, who’s submitted a quality second half of the season after struggling first coming out of the University of Washington.

Then there was a flag, because McMillan used “finger guns” when celebrating getting the first down.

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But, the former Husky redeemed himself, hauling in an impressive toe-tapping touchdown grab to seal the drive and ultimately seal the game, as the Bucs held up on defense and got an extra score on a catch-and-run from Bucky Irving at the end of the fourth quarter.

Then, that Mike Evans magic happened. Fans went home happy.

Now the Bucs are in the playoffs as the third seed due to the Los Angeles Rams losing, and they face a familiar opponent in the Washington Commanders, a team they took down at Raymond James to open the regular season.

Washington travels to Tampa Bay to play the Bucs next Sunday night, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

The Commanders’ rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels seems like a shoo-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and has become one of the most dynamic players in football with his dual-threat ability and tremendous arm talent.

But that’s a problem for next Sunday. For now, it’s time to celebrate the Bucs being NFC South champs for the fourth straight season, a feat that’s never been accomplished by any Bucs team in franchise history.

Fire those cannons, it’s a great time to be a Bucs fan.

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This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2025.