A historic day for Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans ended abruptly near the end of the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bucs later announced Evans would not return after suffering a knee injury. Tampa went on to topple the Falcons, 44-27, to secure the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Despite how potentially serious the injury initially looked, Bucs coach Bruce Arians offered a glimmer of hope after the game regarding Evans' condition.
"Knock on wood, we don't think there's any serious damage. We'll know more in the next 24 hours," Arians said, per NFL Network's Sara Walsh.
Shortly after becoming the first player in NFL history with 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons, Evans injured his left knee after his leg appeared to get stuck in the turf while trying to catch a pass from Tom Brady in the end zone.
On the play prior to the injury, Evans hauled in a 20-yard reception that gave him the record and brought Tampa Bay inside the red zone. After two more incompletions, a 29-yard Ryan Succop field goal concluded the drive and put the Bucs up 10-3.
Evans exited the contest with three receptions (four targets) for 46 yards.
