My throat hurts from screaming about Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans getting his 1,000 yards.
This almost one-ups last year’s season finale for sheer ugliness on the football field. One of the most terrible wins I have seen, especially considering what they were playing for. But guess what? Who cares. I certainly don’t because what matters is that we won. At 10-7, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are your NFC South Champions. Again. Was it ugly? Yes. Did I lose faith that this would happen? Yes. But they dug deep and found the reserves and barely beat the Saints back-ups. So proud of this team.
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Normally I start with the good or bad depending on what there was the least of. But in this game, the offense and defense were equally good and bad. It was a spectacle for sure. So let’s break it down by half. The first half was one of the worst halves of football I had ever seen. Nothing was working on offense and the Saints just kept grinding the clock down on offense while Baker and Coen stuck a thumb up their ass.
The defense also once again failed to keep the Saints from scoring points in a two minute drill. It was actually embarrassing to watch. I understand we don’t have NFL starters in the secondary right now, but Zyon McCollum should not be playing ten yards off the line in that situation.
The Bucs actually got lucky because the Saints got screwed repeatedly by the refs in the first half, likely costing them some points. There was a throw that wasn’t called a TD even though it really looked like one. Also Cody Mauch straight up threw a right hook into a Saint’s player and that wasn’t called. Plus a really tick tack personal foul. But the refs made up for it a little bit by flagging Jalen McMillan for pointing after getting a clutch fourth down conversion. Apparently they thought he was showing finger guns. But NFL refs are terrible, the sky is blue.
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Where was the offense in the first half? I don’t know, they were barely on the field. If you want a demonstration of how ineffective the offense was in the first, the Bucs had the ball at the 5 and only got three points. For once, Baker bailed out bad play calling and dragged the offense to the win. Shockingly bad play calling by Coen as Bucky was mostly cast to the way side. Baker wasn’t exactly perfect, but he was absolute perfection in the second half when the team needed plays. This is the Baker I saw when he played Carolina.
The defense also really shaped up in the second half, holding the Saints in three points. And that was after a Baker pick and horrible muffed punt giving the Saints prime field position. And the Buccaneers, unlike when they played the Texans in 2023 and Bryce in 2024, did not allow the Saints to drive down the field to score a TD. They ALMOST did, and it was way closer than it should’ve, but rather than hide in soft shell coverage, he sent pressure and actually played aggressively.
That of course led to one of the best moments in this season for the Bucs. Because Bucky ran in a TD he absolutely should not have to give the ball back to the Saints. When it seemed like the record would finally be snapped, the Bucs offense got the ball back and they could’ve kneeled it. But instead, the Buccaneers ran a play to get Mike Evans five yards. Well, he got it and kept the 1k streak going and tying Jerry Rice.
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He also secured $3 million in incentives, so dope as hell. And before you say it, Baker absolutely would not have thrown that if the Saints looked like they would’ve picked it. He would’ve taken a sack. But this is where I leave this. Baker getting Mike that catch and the whole team and crowd celebrating was just an amazing moment. Next to maybe Stephen Stamkos, no athlete in Tampa history means more to the city than Mike Evans.
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