On the final regular-season Sunday of the 2024 season, Mike Evans found himself at the center of a memorable moment in Buccaneers history when he caught a 9-yard pass to extend his 1,000-yard season streak to 11.
He won't flirt with making it 12 in 2025. A concussion, hamstring injury and broken collarbone have limited Evans to five games this season, making the 1,000-yard mark unreachable with three weeks to play.
It's a reality Evans knew was coming for some time.
"I broke my collarbone and had the concussion in one and I knew it was over," Evans said on his streak, via the Buccaneers' Players' Table show. "It is just one of those things that it wasn't meant to be, and that is OK, and I am cool with that. I tied with Jerry Rice, one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest player ever, so that is enough for me. I just want to help my team get to the playoffs now.
"50 seasons of Buccaneers history and I am in the history books as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer tied with Jerry Rice. That is amazing and you cannot even think of that as a kid to draw that up or to dream about that. So, I have been blessed to be a staple of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
With his consecutive 1,000-yard receiving streak on the line and less than a minute to play in Tampa Bay's Week 18 win over New Orleans last season, Baker Mayfield found Evans for a completion that the wideout took another 7 yards to clear the milestone, tying Rice for the most such consecutive seasons in NFL history and sending the Raymond James Stadium crowd into a lovable frenzy.
It was a moment Bucs fans will cherish for decades to come, cementing Evans as one of the franchise's all-time greats and placing him on a path toward Canton. His road has been much rockier in 2025, but his return to action in Week 15 proved he still has plenty of juice and the ability to make big plays the Buccaneers have lacked without him.
Tampa Bay will need it. The Buccaneers have lost five of their last six games, opening the door for Carolina to climb back into the NFC South race with three weeks left in the campaign.
By some standards, it's an achievement that the Buccaneers have even managed to stay in contention, given the rash of injuries that have affected them throughout 2025. Chris Godwin preceded Evans in returning a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until Evans rejoined him that the explosive receiving duo began to look like themselves again.
In the 29-28 loss to Atlanta in Week 15, Evans caught six of 12 targets for 132 yards, including a few big plays created by the rock-solid rapport shared by Evans and Mayfield. Godwin benefitted too, catching four passes for 20 yards, a touchdown and a successful two-point try.
Although the Bucs failed to finish the job and defeat the Falcons, the offensive successes gave them reason to believe they can return to the level of productivity that helped them sprint to a 5-1 start.
"We were thinking what if we all come back together and what we could truly be and that is one of the best receiver rooms on the planet," Evans said of his and Godwin's return, "and we are trying to get into that form right now and help this team continue to make plays."
Jalen McMillan got in on the return-to-action fun too, making his season debut in Week 15 and filling out a receiving corps that was disproportionately leaning on rookie Emeka Egbuka. In theory, with all four now available, the Buccaneers (7-7) should find more offensive success over the final three weeks, which includes two dates with the rival Panthers (7-7), including this Sunday.
Such success would be enough to send Buccaneers fans home happy, much like they were when Evans extended his streak nearly a year ago. This time around, records aren't important -- but winning certainly is.
