TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Name a better way to start out the New Year than clinching the NFC South back-to-back for the first time in team history, I’ll wait.
On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought hard and scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to come back and defeat the Carolina Panthers 30-24.
However, the Bucs couldn’t have done it without Mike Evans’ hat trick and Jake Camarda’s save-the-day punt to seal the deal.
After weeks of waiting, the Brady and Evans connection is back – and in full force. On Sunday, Evans became the first player in franchise history to record two touchdown receptions of 50-plus yards in the same game.
According to Bucs’ senior writer Scott Smith, Evans is also the first Buccaneer ever to record 200 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a single game.
With a missed field goal attempt by the Bucs, Tampa Bay was searching for momentum and they got it when Brady came out slinging with a 63-yard downfield completion to Evans for the Bucs’ first touchdown.
That 63-yard touchdown put Evans over the 1,000 receiving mark for his ninth straight season; He’s only been in the NFL for nine seasons.
Evans finished the game with 10 catches for 207 yards, becoming the only player in NFL history to begin a career with nine consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards.
“Every year is different,” Evans said. “I just thank God that he’s blessed me to be healthy. I have great people around me that help me, you know, accomplish this feat. I’m hoping that I can keep extending it every year I play.”
However, the Bucs’ game didn’t end on an easy note. Bucs’ punter Jake Camarda took a bad snap but was able to save the ball. While scrambling for the ball, he still somehow managed to punt it to the 1-yard line.
Ineligible downfield kick was called on Tampa Bay and the Bucs were able to punt the ball again. Had Camarda not recovered the ball and allowed the Panthers a shot at getting the ball back, the game could’ve ended differently.
“I’ve never seen a punter make an athletic play like that,” Bucs’ head coach Todd Bowles said after the game.
A first-round playoff match at Raymond James Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys (or Philadelphia Eagles again) lies ahead for the Buccaneers, but first, Tampa Bay will take on the Atlanta Falcons in one last division match-up on Jan. 8.
