The Bucs are entering the final stretch of their 2023 regular season on Sunday in Indianapolis. At 4-6 and having lost five of their last six games, they’re quickly running out of time to prove that they have what it takes to win consistently enough to outduel the Saints and Falcons to win a third straight NFC South crown. With that said, though, a win for Tampa Bay over the 5-5 Colts on Sunday would really make things interesting.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

If the Bucs can beat the Colts, they’ll be 5-6. The 5-5 Saints and 4-6 Falcons meet on Sunday, so that result is guaranteed to be a positive one for Todd Bowles and his team. If Tampa Bay and New Orleans win, the former will remain one game behind the latter for the division lead while moving a game ahead of Atlanta for second place. But if Tampa Bay and Atlanta win, there will be a three-way tie between them and New Orleans atop the division with six games to go.

None of that matters if the Bucs can’t shake off last week’s loss to the 49ers and win this game. If they fall to 4-7, not only will they be one step closer to being out of the race, but there would be little reason to believe they could win even four of their final six games to put themselves into the playoffs. But a win? They’d be 5-6 with a home game against the 1-9 Panthers up next. In other words, winning this game would give them a very direct and realistic path to reaching the .500 mark before a trip to Atlanta in Week 14.

So there’s plenty on the line for Tampa Bay this Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium even without all of the individual accolades and milestones that we track here each week. But there’s also plenty to dig into with all of that. Last week, Lavonte David passed Ronde Barber for second-most tackles in Bucs history while becoming the only active player with 1,000 career solo tackles. Plus, Mike Evans tied Don Maynard (88) for 15th-most receiving touchdowns in NFL history.

Let’s now see where things stand heading into Week 12.

Mike Evans

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Evans has a whole lot to chase this week and as the season winds down. Starting with the NFL’s all-time total touchdowns list, Evans needs one touchdown of any kind to tie Leroy Kelly and Charley Taylor (90) for 38th-most in league history. With two more touchdowns, Evans will tie Davante Adams (still active), Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters (91) for 32nd-most in NFL history.

Evans is three receiving touchdowns away from tying Davante Adams (still active) and Isaac Bruce (91) for 13th-most in NFL history.

As his 10th season in the NFL enters its final stretch, Evans has a chance to climb the league’s all-time leaderboard for receiving yards through the first 10 seasons of a career. With 50 more yards, he’ll pass Andre Johnson (11,254) for 11th on that list. He needs 59 yards to pass Antonio Brown (11,263) for 10th and 69 to pass Brandon Marshall (11,273) for ninth. Meanwhile, he’s 163 yards away from passing Larry Fitzgerald (11,367) for eighth.

Evans is also just 220 yards away from passing the 1,000-yard mark for the 10th straight season, extending his NFL record for most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to begin a career. Of course, if he gets to 10, he’ll need a 1,000-yard season in 2024 to tie Jerry Rice (11 seasons) for the longest streak of 1,000-yard receiving seasons in league history.

Evans is now 51 points scored away from breaking Martin Gramatica’s franchise record (592). And finally, Sunday will mark the legendary Bucs receiver’s 148th game, tying him with Shelton Quarles for 10th-most in team history.

Chris Godwin

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo By: Cliff Welch P/R

Godwin needs one more receiving touchdown to tie Jimmie Giles (34) for second-most in Bucs history. He would also officially pass Cameron Brate (33) in the process.

With one more touchdown of any kind, Godwin will pass Giles (34) for fourth-most total touchdowns in team history.

Four more receptions will help Godwin join Mike Evans as the only receivers in franchise history to haul in 500-plus receptions with the team.

With his 98th game as a Buc on Sunday, Godwin will tie Booger McFarland and Earnest Graham for 47th-most in franchise history.

Will Gholston

Gholston is set to play his 164th game with Tampa Bay on Sunday, tying him with John Lynch (164) for sixth-most in team history.

Shaq Barrett

Barrett is 10.5 sacks away from passing Gerald McCoy (54.5) for fourth-most in franchise history. He also needs just one more forced fumble to tie Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber (15) for fourth-most in team history.

Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yaya Diaby

Diaby notched two sacks in last week’s loss to the 49ers, which means he’s up to four on the year. He needs two more sacks to tie Gaines Adams (six in 2007) for the third-most sacks by a rookie in franchise history.

Carlton Davis III

If Davis is able to suit up on Sunday, he’ll have a chance to inch closer to Derrick Brooks (84) for third-most passes defensed in Bucs history. He needs 17 more to pass the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bucs Ring of Honor member.

Antoine Winfield Jr.

Winfield is two forced fumbles away from tying Jermaine Philips and Stylez G. White (10) for ninth-most in Bucs history.