In the Bucs’ 26-24 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night, Mike Evans didn’t have a target until the second quarter and only had eight on a night when Baker Mayfield threw the ball 43 times. He had four catches for 59 yards in the first half, including an impressive 26-yarder to spark Tampa Bay’s first touchdown drive.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Cowboys S Donovan Wilson – Photo by: USA Today

But in the second half, Evans was a non-factor. Pay some credit to the Cowboys defense for that, but only getting the ball to your best receiver once for 10 yards in the entire second half – especially when trailing by two scores for much of it – can’t happen. Evans finished the night with five catches for 69 yards.

Despite all of that, the best offensive player in franchise history has still given himself a chance to reach 1,000 yards for the 11th straight season with two games to play.

With those 69 yards, Evans is up to 818 yards on the season despite missing three games with a hamstring injury. With two weeks left, he needs 182 more yards, which averages out to 91 yards per game.

If he can get to 1,000, not only does he extend his NFL record for most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to begin a career to 11 – he’ll also tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the longest streak of 1,000-yard receiving seasons in league history.

It’ll come down to the wire, but Evans has given himself a chance to make even more history in a career full of it.

Mike Evans Will Look To Replicate Previous Success vs. Panthers

Up next for Mike Evans and the Bucs is a home matchup with the Panthers in Week 17. Not only does Tampa Bay need to win the game to keep its playoff hopes alive, but Evans will need to do some work to cut into those 182 yards he needs to reach the 1,000-yard mark. In his quest to do so, he’ll be looking to replicate the type of success he’s had against Carolina throughout his career and especially late in the season.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Panthers CB Jaycee Horn – Photo by: USA Today

Of course, prior to his 159-yard game against the Chargers in Week 15, Evans had his first 100-yard game of the season in a Week 13 overtime win at Carolina. In that game, he caught eight of his 12 targets for 118 yards and a touchdown. A performance similar to that one in Week 17 would really set him up well to surpass 1,000 yards in the team’s season finale.

It’s not just that Week 13 game that saw Evans have some big-time success against the Panthers, as he’s no stranger to big games against them. He has more targets (203), catches (110) and yards (1,598) against Carolina than any other team. He also has 12 touchdowns in 20 games against the Panthers, and the Falcons are the only team he’s scored on more than that (13 touchdowns).

And remember, Evans is only a couple of years removed from reaching that 1,000-yard mark against the Panthers at Raymond James Stadium, as he did so in the 2022 season (on New Year’s Day 2023). That day, he dominated to the tune of 10 catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

The Panthers are playing better as of late and currently rank ninth against the pass, allowing an average of 210.7 passing yards per game. But Evans has five career 100-yard games against them, and if Baker Mayfield can get him the ball early and often on Sunday afternoon at Ray Jay, it may just set the franchise’s all-time leading receiver up to maintain that impressively consistent streak.

Not to mention, more involvement from Evans is likely to help the Bucs win the game and stay alive in the playoff hunt, which is what the future Hall of Fame receiver cares about the most.