It’s the 4th of July weekend and that means fireworks! With all Jason Pierre-Paul jokes aside, one player stands alone in this department. No player in Buccaneers history has been better in giving fans fireworks than Mike Evans.
The future Hall of Famer has been putting on a show for nearly a decade now. He has made a career full of explosive plays and games of lighting up the scoreboard. Here are my top five Mike Evans games.
1/23/22 vs Los Angeles – 8 catches, 116 yards and 1 touchdown
The greats oftentimes have their best performances on the biggest stage. That was very much the case for Evans in this playoff matchup with the Rams. And while the Bucs would lose in heartbreaking fashion to the eventual Super Bowl champions, no one can say that Evans didn’t do his part.
It wasn’t just the fact that he had over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. Or the role he played in what was almost an epic comeback victory for the Buccaneers. But what really made this game standout was the fact that he was able to do this vs fellow future Hall of Famer, Jalen Ramsey.
Let us never forget what could have been Tom Brady’s final career touchdown which was a 55 yard bomb to Evans to bring the Bucs within one score with 3:20 left to play. In a universe where the Buccaneers completed that comeback and this play went down as one of the most iconic catches in playoff history.
11/16/14 vs Washington – 7 catches, 209 yards and 2 touchdowns
Sometimes you learn pretty quickly if a young player is going to be good or not. Evans’ career high 209 receiving yard game as a rookie left little doubt. It was a brilliant beginning to what would turn into a Hall of Fame career.
In this game Evans had 209 of the total 288 receiving yards that quarterback Josh McCown would throw for that day. He also accounted for both receiving touchdowns. It was a truly dominant performance.
The only reason this game isn’t higher is because the moment wasn’t big enough. Beating up on a bad Washington team in the regular season is well and good, but it doesn’t carry the same weight compared to bigger games vs better competition.
11/27/16 vs Seattle – 8 catches, 104 yards and 2 touchdowns
This is a game that always stood out to me. Not because of the stat line, which wasn’t as gaudy as others, but because of who the competition was. Of course, that would have been Richard Sherman and the Legion of Boom.
The Jameis Winston led Bucs would only score 14 points that day, but they were two excellent catches by Evans. One to beat Kam Chancellor and Bobby Wagner to set up his first touchdown and another 23 yard shot to beat Sherman.
There are few secondaries in NFL history more notorious than this one. For Evans to dominate them like he did is just one more testament to his greatness.
1/16/22 vs Philadelphia – 9 catches, 117 yards and 1 touchdown
Playoff victories carry a lot of weight. Especially when going against a great opponent such as Darius Slay. That was the circumstance when Evans put up this performance.
It was a dominant Bucs victory led by Brady and Evans over an Eagles team that would go on to win the NFC just one year later. That included a 36 yard touchdown catch in the second half that was the cherry on top as the Bucs went up 31 nothing. It was the type of game that helps cement a Hall of Fame resume.
1/1/23 vs Carolina – 10 catches, 207 yards and 3 touchdowns
This is a game that remains fresh in the memory of Bucs fans. In a game that essentially decided who would win the NFC South and go to the playoffs, Evans came up huge in the biggest moment.
The Buccaneers fell behind 14-0 in the first half before Evans went deep for a 63 yard bomb with just over 2:00 minutes to go before halftime. The Bucs would continue to tail going into the fourth quarter until long touchdown passes of 57 and 30 yards erased an 11 point deficit as the team clinched a third consecutive trip to the postseason.
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