The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-24, on Monday night in a game that saw the lead change hands several times before the visitors' decisive field goal with four minutes remaining. After the Rams took the early lead with a touchdown on their first possession, the Buccaneers came back with 14 straight points, the first seven on yet another touchdown catch by wide receiver Mike Evans.
Evans' nine-yard score in the second quarter, on which he fought through two defenders to get all the way from the eight-yard line to paydirt, was his ninth of the season. With five games left to play, Evans is on the verge of his third season with double-digit touchdowns; every other player in team history has combined for two such seasons, with Mike Williams getting 11 in 2010 and Joey Galloway scoring 10 times in 2005. Evans is already tied for the fifth-highest single-season touchdown reception total in franchise history.
Since he entered the league as a first-round draft pick in 2014, Evans has been one of the league's most reliable scorers in the passing game. The only player with more touchdown catches than Evans in that span is his current teammate, Antonio Brown.
Most Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-20
| Player | Team(s) | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 60 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 57 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals | 56 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 54 |
| Odell Beckham | Giants/Browns | 51 |
Evans, who also has a 58th touchdown in his career on an end zone fumble recovery, holds the team's single-season record with 12 scoring catches, which he achieved in both 2014 and 2016. Evans is in his seventh season and he now has at least eight touchdown catches in five of them. Only Brown has as many seasons with eight-plus scoring grabs since Evans entered the NFL.
Most Seasons with 8+ Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-20
| Player | Team(s) | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 5 |
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 5 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 4 |
| six tied with* | 3 |
(* One of the six players tied with three is another Buccaneer, tight end Rob Gronkowski.)
In addition to hitting Evans on that second-quarter touchdown, quarterback Tom Brady also threw a 13-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Chris Godwin in the fourth quarter, temporarily tying the game at 24-24. Those two touchdown passes improved Brady's career total to 566, moving him back ahead of New Orleans Drew Brees on the NFL's all-time list. Brees is currently sidelined by fractured ribs and thus was not able to add to his total of 565.
Most Touchdown Passes, NFL History
| Player | Team(s) | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 566 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 565 |
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 539 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 508 |
| Dan Marino | Dolphins | 420 |
Brady increased his season total to 25 touchdown passes, which is tied for the fifth most in a single season in franchise history. This is the 15th time in his career that Brady has recorded 25 or more touchdown passes in a season. Only Peyton Manning has done it more often.
Most Seasons with 25+ Touchdown Passes, NFL History
| Player | Team(s) | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Peyton Manning | Colts/Broncos | 16 |
| Tom Brady | Patriots/Buccaneers | 15 |
| Drew Brees | Chargers/Saints | 14 |
| Brett Favre | Packers/Jets/Vikings | 11 |
| Philip Rivers | Chargers/Colts | 11 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 11 |
Cameron Brate caught three passes from Brady for 23 yards and in the process he moved up the Buccaneers' all-time list for receptions by a tight end. Brate now ranks third on that list and has second place in his sights.
Most Receptions by a Tight End, Buccaneers History
| Tight End | Seasons | Recs. |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Giles | 1978-86 | 279 |
| Kellen Winslow | 2009-11 | 218 |
| Cameron Brate | 2014-20 | 211 |
| Ron Hall | 1987-93 | 209 |
| Dave Moore | 1991-2001; 04-06 | 184 |
Kicker Ryan Succop scored six of the Buccaneers' 24 points on Monday night, making all three of his extra point attempts plus a 38-yard field goal. Succop maintained the top spot on the NFL's scoring list in 2020. He is averaging 8.73 points per game and is on pace to finish the season with 139. The Buccaneers' single-season scoring record is 131, set by Matt Bryant in 2008.
Most Points Scored, NFL, 2020
| Player | Pos. | Team | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Succop | K | Tampa Bay | 96 |
| Daniel Carlson | K | Las Vegas | 94 |
| Rodrigo Blankenship | K | Indianapolis | 94 |
| Wil Lutz | K | New Orleans | 91 |
| Jason Sanders | K | Miami | 90 |
| Younghoe Koo | K | Atlanta | 90 |
| Dalvin Cook | RB | Minnesota | 90 |
Succop only had the one opportunity to kick a field goal but it was still a milestone of sorts. He now has the second-longest streak of successful field goal attempts in Buccaneers history.
Most Consecutive Field Goals Made, Buccaneers History
| 1. Connor Barth, 25…10/16/11-9/30-02 |
| 2. Ryan Succop, 17…10/4-11/23/20 |
| 3t. Martin Gramatica, 16…10/9-12/3/00 |
| 3t. Michael Husted, 16…11/19/95-9/22/96 |
ILB Lavonte David recorded nine tackles on Monday night, three of them resulting in losses. David now has a team-high 10 tackles for loss and he's tied for sixth in that category in the NFL. Since he entered the league in 2012, David has been the second-best player in the league at racking up tackles for loss and the best among players who do not get the majority of their TFLs as sacks.
Most Tackles for Loss, NFL, 2012-20
| Player | Team(s) | TFLs | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.J. Watt | Texans | 152 | 73.5 |
| Lavonte David | Buccaneers | 126 | 24.0 |
| Aaron Donald | Rams | 124 | 81.0 |
| Calais Campbell | Cardinals/Jaguars/Ravens | 120 | 55.5 |
| Cameron Jordan | Saints | 119 | 71.0 |
As a whole, Tampa Bay's defense came into Week 11 with the second-most sacks and second-most takeaways in the NFL. The Bucs didn't add to their sack total but did intercept Jared Goff twice – once each by Jordan Whitehead and Jason Pierre-Paul – and remain second on that list.
Most Takeaways, NFL Teams, 2020
| 1. Pittsburgh: 21 |
|---|
| 2. Tampa Bay: 19 |
| 3t. Cleveland: 17 |
| 3t. Indianapolis: 17 |
| 3t. Miami: 17 |
Pierre-Paul also had an interception in the Buccaneers' Week 10 win at Carolina, giving him two on the season and doubling his career total to four. Pierre-Paul is the first non-defensive back to record an interception in two consecutive games for the Buccaneers since Lavonte David in 2013.
