It took just two plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season to get thrown into total chaos, and potentially completely out of whack.
In the first half of Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Mike Evans dropped a touchdown pass and immediately clutched his hamstring. He remained down for several minutes but was at least able to walk back to the locker room under his own power.
The same could not be said for Chris Godwin later in the game.
As the Bucs were controversially trying to drive for a score down 10 points with under a minute left in the game, Godwin's leg got caught under Roquon Smith and bent in a direction legs aren't meant to. He was carted off the field with an air cast around his leg, later being diagnosed with what the team believes is a dislocated ankle.
Losing their top two offensive players bookended a disastrous night for the Bucs, and things continue to get worse as we learn more about just how bad the injuries are.
Buccaneers get brutal injury updates on Mike Evans and Chris Godwin
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero delivered the grim news to Bucs fans on Tuesday morning. While nothing is official, Godwin is expected to undergo surgery to repair his dislocated ankle and miss the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, Evans' timeline for returning is unclear, which means Tampa Bay could be without him for two massive matchups against the Falcons and Chiefs.
#Bucs WR Mike Evans also is scheduled to undergo an MRI this morning on his hamstring and his timeline is TBD. Two big losses for Tampa Bay. https://t.co/BXvbWWnND4
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 22, 2024
It's impossible to overstate just how rough this turn of events is for the Bucs. They came into Monday night with a chance to take over the No. 1 seed in the NFC but ended it not only out of the playoff picture but down their two best players on offense.
Tampa Bay was already facing a tough stretch of games with the Falcons, Chiefs, and 49ers all upcoming on the schedule, but the hill gets even steeper if Evans is off the board. Given how negative the reaction was on Monday when fans felt he was rushed back too soon -- which is a bit of a double edged sword considering nobody was upset until after he got hurt -- the Bucs would be wise to play it safe with Evans' health.
It's something that carries even more weight knowing Godwin won't be back this year.
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