With both Vincent Jackson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins sidelined, Mike Evans took the field on Sunday afternoon with more catches than any wide receiver on the Bucs' roster. He was targeted often against the Giants, as would be expected, and finished the day with eight catches for 152 yards.
WATCH: BUCS VS. GIANTS HIGHLIGHTS
But as rain rolled in at Raymond James Stadium and conditions worsened, Evans struggled with drops. According to Pro Football Focus, he dropped seven passes. In the locker room following the game, Evans spared any excuses and promised that he would improve.
"I don't know what it is," Evans said. "I have to work on wet ball drills or something. The Giants' receivers were catching balls in the rain and I wasn't. And I live here, so that's unacceptable. I'll be better next game.
"My teammates played great. It's on me. I mean obviously you watched the game, you saw it was on me. I got to be better."
According to T.J. Rives of the Buccaneers Radio Network, Evans changed his gloves at least three times during the game.
"It was wet, but it was humid, and I kept sweating through my gloves," Evans said. "I put the rain gloves on and I dropped the third-down conversion. I had to keep changing them because the ball was too slick. But that's no excuse; I've got to catch those. Other guys are catching them, I've got to catch them."
Despite his struggles, Evans' picked up his 100th career reception in Sunday's loss to New York. He also recorded the sixth 100-yard receiving game of his career. During his stellar rookie campaign last season, Evans had just three 100-yard games, a mark he's already matched this year.
Evans and the Bucs' offense are set to face a Dallas defense which ranks 11th in the league against the pass this Sunday at home.
