The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped a 41-31 prime-time decision to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week Four on an evening that was confounding for what had been the NFL's stingiest defense. Conversely, what had been an offense stuck in neutral found another gear and looked a bit more like what the team had grown accustomed to since the arrival of Tom Brady in 2020.
Though it offers little consolation on the day after the game, Brady clearly benefited from the return of several key offensive figures in Week Four, particularly that of wideout Mike Evans who had missed Week Three while serving a one-game NFL suspension. Evans wasted no time making his mark, and in fact set yet another franchise record with his very first catch of the night.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Brady found his favorite target deep down the middle for a 30-yard gain that was more than enough to make Evans the Buccaneers' all-time leader in yards from scrimmage. The ninth-year receiver piled that record on top of his franchise standards for touchdown catches (78), total touchdowns (79), receptions (622) and receiving yards (9,536).
Most Yards from Scrimmage, Buccaneers History
| Player | Pos. | Seasons | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | WR | 2014-22 | 9,546 |
| James Wilder | RB | 1981-89 | 9,449 |
| Warrick Dunn | RB | 1997-2001; 08 | 7,690 |
| Mike Alstott | RB | 1996-2006 | 7,372 |
| Doug Martin | RB | 2012-17 | 5,724 |
Evans padded his all-time franchise lead in receiving touchdowns with 13 and one-yard scores in the second quarter as the Bucs attempted to rally from an early 21-3 deficit. That marked the 17th time in his career that Evans has recorded multiple touchdown catches in a game. That ties for the most among all players since he entered the league as the seventh overall pick in 2014.
Most Games with Multiple Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-22
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 17 |
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 17 |
| Davante Adams | Packers/Raiders | 16 |
| Tyreek Hill | Chiefs/Dolphins | 13 |
| Odell Beckham | Giants/Browns/Rams | 12 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals | 12 |
Evans, who scored two touchdowns in a single quarter for the eighth time in his career, pulled away from the Raiders' Davante Adams for the NFL's lead in touchdown catches since 2014.
| Player | Team(s) | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 78 |
| Davante Adams | Packers/Raiders | 76 |
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 68 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals | 66 |
| Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 60 |
Evans finished the evening with eight catches for 103 yards, giving him the 31st 100-yard regular-season receiving game of his illustrious career. That's already more than double the next player on the Buccaneers' all-time list (Chris Godwin and Mark Carrier are second with 15 each), and it is also top five in the league since his 2014 arrival.
Most 100-Yard Receiving Games, NFL, 2014-22
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Julio Jones | Falcons/Titans/Buccaneers | 47 |
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 38 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals | 36 |
| Davante Adams | Packers/Raiders | 32 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 31 |
Sunday night's game also marked the 10th time in his career that Evans has surpassed 100 receiving yards and scored multiple times. That's tied for the second most in the NFL since 2014.
Most Games with 100+ Receiving Yards and Multiple Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-22
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 12 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 10 |
| Davante Adams | Packers/Raiders | 10 |
| Tyreek Hill | Chiefs/Dolphins | 9 |
| Julio Jones | Falcons/Titans/Buccaneers | 8 |
Evans' two touchdown grabs gave him 12 points on the evening, increasing his career total to 482 points. He is now the third-leading scorer in franchise history and is three touchdowns away from joining kickers Martin Gramatica and Michael Husted to hit the 500-point mark.
Most Points Scored, Buccaneers History
| Player | Pos. | Seasons | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Gramatica | K | 1999-2004 | 592 |
| Michael Husted | K | 1993-98 | 502 |
| Mike Evans | WR | 2014-22 | 482 |
| Connor Barth | K | 2009-13; 15 | 477 |
| Mike Alstott | FB | 1996-2006 | 432 |
In addition to his connection with Evans, Brady also found Godwin and running back Leonard Fournette for seven completions each and hooked up with rookie running back Rachaad White on five passes for 50 yards. In all, Brady finished the evening with a season-high 385 passing yards, marking the 109th 300-yard game of his career. Only Drew Brees has more. Brady also padded his all-time lead in games with three or more touchdown passes.
Most 300-Yard Passing Games, NFL History
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 123 |
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 109 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 93 |
| Matt Ryan | Falcons/Colts | 74 |
| Phillip Rivers | Chargers/Colts | 73 |
Most Games with 3+ Touchdown Passes, NFL History
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 102 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 97 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 93 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 81 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 72 |
Most impressively, Brady improved on his totals in both categories without throwing an interception. This marks the 67th time in his career that Brady has thrown at least three touchdown passes without an interception, another all-time NFL record.
Most Games 3+ Touchdown Passes and No Interceptions, NFL History
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 67 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 62 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 56 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 51 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 36 |
Brady's third touchdown pass of the evening went to Fournette, who scored on a five-yard catch in the fourth quarter, his fifth career receiving touchdown. Fournette also had a 25-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter, his longest reception since joining the Buccaneers in 2020. Tampa Bay's fourth touchdown went to White, who scored for the first time in his NFL career. Kicker Ryan Succop accounted for the other seven points with four extra points and a 45-yard field goal.
Weirdly, Succop's last six field goal tries, all successful, have come from either 47 or 45 yards. His seven overall field goals of 40 or more yards ties for the league lead through the first four weeks of the 2022 season.
Most Successful Field Goals of 40+ Yards, NFL, 2022
| Kicker | Team | 40+ FGs |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Succop | Buccaneers | 7 |
| Graham Gano | Giants | 7 |
| Younghoe Koo | Falcons | 6 |
| Evan McPherson | Bengals | 6 |
| Greg Zuerlein | Jets | 6 |
Succop is nine of 10 overall on field goals this season, which has improved his franchise-record field goal percentage to 87.3%. He is tied for fifth in the NFL in scoring this season with 34 overall points and ranks third in that category since he joined the Buccaneers just before the start of the 2020 campaign.
Most Points Scored, NFL, 2020-22
| Player | Team | Pts. |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Carlson | Raiders | 336 |
| Tyler Bass | Bills | 310 |
| Ryan Succop | Buccaneers | 301 |
| Justin Tucker | Ravens | 296 |
| Younghoe Koo | Falcons | 294 |
**
Additional Notes:
- Safety Mike Edwards recorded the second sack of his career and his first since his 2019 rookie season, while also leading the team with 13 tackles. Edwards, who also logged 13 stops in Week Three against Green Bay, is the fourth player in franchise history to produce consecutive games with 13+ tackles, joining Lavonte David (three times), Barrett Ruud and Derrick Brooks, all linebackers.
- Outside linebackers Anthony Nelson and Carl Nassib also sacked the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes on Sunday night. Dating back to last season, Nelson has 5.0 sacks in his last seven games played. Nassib's sack is his first since rejoining the Buccaneers this season and the 23rd of his career. Of his 23 sacks, 13.5 have come in a Buccaneers uniform.
- The Buccaneers got into Kansas City's red zone four times in Sunday's game and came away with touchdowns on all four trips. That marked the firs time since an October 18, 2020 game against Green Bay that the Buccaneers had a 100% touchdown ratio on four or more incursions into the red zone. Three of those four red zone trips turned into goal-to-go situations, and the Buccaneers are now five for five scoring touchdowns on such possessions this season.
