When Mike Alstott announced his retirement in January of 2008, his Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise record of 71 touchdowns looked like it might be unassailable. It is now very much being assailed.
Wide receiver Mike Evans caught two scoring passes in the Buccaneers' 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, improving his career mark to 60 touchdowns. In 2018, Evans scored on a recovery of a teammate's fumble in the end zone; his other 59 scores have all been of the receiving variety. Evans now has more touchdown catches than Alstott had touchdown runs, but he's still 11 scores behind on the franchise's overall list. With his recent surge of four touchdowns in the last three games, Evans is now closer to Alstott's total than James Wilder, who is in third place on the list, is to Evans.
Most Career Touchdowns Scored, Buccaneers History
| Player | Seasons | Rush | Rec. | Ret. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Alstott | 1996-2007 | 58 | 13 | 0 | 71 |
| Mike Evans | 2014-20 | 0 | 59 | 1 | 60 |
| James Wilder | 1981-89 | 37 | 9 | 0 | 46 |
| Jimmie Giles | 1978-86 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 34 |
| Kevin House | 1980-86 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 31 |
With his two touchdowns on Sunday, Evans increased his 2020 total to 11, marking the third time in his seven NFL seasons that he has hit double digits in that category. Evans also pulled to within one of his own team record for touchdown catches in a season, which he first established in 2014 and then matched in 2016. And he is just two behind James Wilder's 1984 franchise mark for most touchdowns of any kind in a season.
Most Touchdowns, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Player | Seasons | Rush | Rec. | Ret. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Wilder | 1984 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Mike Evans | 2016 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Mike Evans | 2014 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Doug Martin | 2012 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Mike Evans | 2020 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Williams | 2010 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Alstott | 2001 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Errict Rhett | 1995 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Evans tied Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen on the league's overall touchdown catch leaderboard on Sunday, but they were both surpassed by Kansas City's Tyreek Hill, who scored three times against the Buccaneers to increase his 2020 total to 13.
Most Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2020
| Player | Team | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Tyreek Hill | Chiefs | 13 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 11 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 11 |
| Adam Thielen | Vikings | 11 |
| DK Metcalf | Seahawks | 9 |
In addition to closing the gap on Alstott's franchise record, Wilder's single-season record and his own team standard for single-season TD catches, Evans also pulled within one of his own teammate on another list. Evans has caught 59 touchdown passes since entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2014. In that span, only Antonio Brown has caught more across the NFL.
Most Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-20
| Player | Team(s) | Rec. TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 60 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 59 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals | 56 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 55 |
| Odell Beckham | Giants/Browns | 51 |
Evans scored both of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter on Sunday, hauling in passes of 31 and seven yards. That marked the second time this season and the 11th time in his career that he has had a multi-touchdown game. That's the most in franchise history and tied for the fourth most in the NFL since 2014.
Most Games with Multiple Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2014-20
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Brown | Steelers/Patriots/Buccaneers | 17 |
| Davante Adams | Packers | 12 |
| Odell Beckham | Giants/Browns | 12 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 11 |
| Tyreek Hill | Chiefs | 11 |
Tom Brady threw both of those fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Evans and also hit running back Ronald Jones on a 37-yard score in the second quarter. It was the first touchdown catch of Jones' three-year career. Those trio of scoring throws pushed Brady's career mark to 569, which is now four more than the 565 thrown by the Saints' Drew Brees, who is currently sidelined with a ribs injury, and the most in NFL history. On the season, Brady now has 28 touchdown passes, which is tied for the second-most in franchise history. He has four more games to try to catch the team's all-time mark of 33, set just last year by Jameis Winston.
Most Touchdown Passes, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Quarterback | Season | TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Jameis Winston | 2019 | 33 |
| Tom Brady | 2020 | 28 |
| Jameis Winston | 2016 | 28 |
| Josh Freeman | 2012 | 27 |
| Brad Johnson | 2003 | 26 |
Brady's top target in Sunday's game was tight end Rob Gronkowski, his long-time teammate in New England. Gronkowski caught six passes for 106 yards, including a 48-yarder in the third quarter that is his longest as a Buccaneer. That was also Gronkowski's first 100-yard game since joining the Bucs, but hardly the first of his career. In fact, only one tight end in NFL history has more 100-yard receiving games than Gronkowski, and he's atop the list if one adds in postseason play.
Most 100-Yard Receiving Games by a Tight End, NFL History
| Tight End | Team(s) | Seasons | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Gonzalez | Chiefs/Falcons | 1997-2013 | 31 |
| Rob Gronkowski | Patriots/Buccaneers | 2010-18; 2020 | 29 |
| Kellen Winslow, Sr. | Chargers | 1979-87 | 24 |
| Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 2013-20 | 23 |
| Jackie Smith | Cardinals/Cowboys | 1963-78 | 22 |
The same five players top the list when postseason touchdowns are added, but the order is rearranged.
Most 100-Yard Receiving Games by a Tight End, Including Postseason, NFL History
| Tight End | Team(s) | Seasons | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | Patriots/Buccaneers | 2010-18; 2020 | 33 |
| Tony Gonzalez | Chiefs/Falcons | 1997-2013 | 31 |
| Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 2013-20 | 26 |
| Kellen Winslow, Sr. | Chargers | 1979-87 | 26 |
| Jackie Smith | Cardinals/Cowboys | 1963-78 | 22 |
Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett set up the drive that concluded with Brady's touchdown pass to Jones with a second-quarter sack of Patrick Mahomes that caused a fumble. Defensive lineman Will Gholston recovered for the Buccaneers at the Chiefs' 14-yard line. Since he arrived in Tampa as an unrestricted free agent in 2019, Barrett has recorded more sacks than any other player in the NFL and is tied for the league lead in forced fumbles.
Most Sacks, NFL, 2019-20
| Player | Team | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
| Shaquil Barrett | Buccaneers | 25.5 |
| T.J. Watt | Steelers | 23.5 |
| Aaron Donald | Rams | 22.5 |
| Za'Darius Smith | Packers | 22.5 |
| Cameron Jordan | Saints | 22.0 |
Most Forced Fumbles, NFL, 2019-20
| Player | Team(s) | FF |
|---|---|---|
| Shaquil Barrett | Buccaneers | 8 |
| Chandler Jones | Cardinals | 8 |
| T.J. Watt | Steelers | 8 |
| Khalil Mack | Bears | 7 |
| Yannick Ngakoue | Jaguars/Vikings/Ravens | 7 |
| Logan Ryan | Titans/Giants | 7 |
Outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul got the Buccaneers' other sack of Mahomes on Sunday, increasing his 2020 total to 8.5 and putting him within 1.5 of his fourth career season with double-digit sacks. Pierre-Paul currently ranks sixth in the NFL with those 8.5 sacks.
NFL's 2020 Sack Leaders
| Player | Team | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Donald | Rams | 10.0 |
| Myles Garrett | Browns | 9.5 |
| Trey Hendrickson | Saints | 9.5 |
| Za'Darius Smith | Packers | 9.0 |
| T.J. Watt | Steelers | 9.0 |
| Jason Pierre-Paul | Buccaneers | 8.5 |
Inside linebacker Devin White led the Buccaneers with 12 total tackles against Kansas City and in the process pulled into a tie for the top spot in the NFL in that category. It was the eighth game of White's career with double-digit tackles and his sixth this season, which is tied for the second most in the NFL in 2020.
NFL's 2020 Tackle Leaders
| Player | Team | Tackles |
|---|---|---|
| Devin White | Buccaneers | 109 |
| Zach Cunningham | Texans | 109 |
| Eric Kendricks | Vikings | 107 |
| Roquan Smith | Bears | 101 |
| Blake Martinez | Giants | 101 |
| Jaylon Smith | Cowboys | 101 |
Inside Linebacker Lavonte David was second on the team with eight tackles on Sunday, but before he even recorded one stop he made a move up one of the Buccaneers' all-time franchise leaderboard. Since being drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round in 2012, David has played in and started 133 regular-season games. His 133rd games played put him in the top 10 in that category in franchise history, while his 133rd start moved him into sixth all time. David is the only player on the team's all-time games played list who began his career after the turn of the millennium.
Most Games Played, Buccaneers Franchise History
| Player | Pos. | Seasons | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronde Barber | CB/S | 1997-2012 | 241 |
| Derrick Brooks | LB | 1995-2008 | 224 |
| Dave Moore | TE | 1992-2001; 04-06 | 190 |
| Paul Gruber | TE | 1988-99 | 183 |
| John Lynch | S | 1993-2003 | 164 |
| Tony Mayberry | C | 1990-99 | 160 |
| Mike Alstott | FB | 1996-2007 | 158 |
| Shelton Quarles | LB | 1997-2006 | 148 |
| Warren Sapp | DT | 1995-2003 | 140 |
| Lavonte David | LB | 2012-20 | 133 |
Most Games Started, Buccaneers Franchise History
| Player | Pos. | Seasons | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronde Barber | CB/S | 1997-2012 | 232 |
| Derrick Brooks | LB | 1995-2008 | 221 |
| Paul Gruber | TE | 1988-99 | 183 |
| Tony Mayberry | C | 1990-99 | 145 |
| Mike Alstott | FB | 1996-2007 | 137 |
| Lavonte David | LB | 2012-20 | 133 |
| John Lynch | S | 1993-2003 | 132 |
| Warren Sapp | DT | 1995-2003 | 130 |
| Gerald McCoy | DT | 2010-18 | 123 |
| Lee Roy Selmon | DE | 1976-84 | 117 |
