The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't looked quite right in the last few weeks. Even though Baker Mayfield has continued to play well, the combination of a major defensive regression coupled with injuries to players like Mike Evans on offense has ultimately sunk their ship.
The Bucs not only lost Evans in the middle of the year, but his chief running mate in Chris Godwin suffered a more serious injury that ended his regular season prematurely. Without No. 13 in his usual role, Tampa Bay has declined to the point where it's genuinely uncertain if they can make the postseason despite Baker Mayfield's career year.
If Todd Bowles is to make a charge, Evans will need to be at the tip of his spear. After weeks of nervousness, it seems like Bucs fans can finally breathe easy as the future Hall of Famer returns to action.
According to Jordan Schultz, Evans, who has not played since Week 7, has returned to practice and is expected to play against the New York Giants. Even without Godwin, getting Evans back in the fold should be enough to make them a respectable challenger to the division-leading Falcons.
Mike Evans returns to Buccaneers practice before Giants game
Evans, who recently caught his 100th touchdown pass, has been his usual, consistent self this season. While new OC Liam Coen isn't using Evans down the field as much as past OCs have, Evans is still piling up the points after finding the end zone six times in the seven games he played in.
The Bucs will likely lean on Evans even more than in past games. Tampa is already missing Godwin, and the menagerie of receivers used to fill in did not do an adequate job outside of tight end Cade Otton emerging. The running game is better, but still somewhat toothless.
The Bucs still have some ground to make up in the division, as the Falcons have both two more wins and a tiebreaker advantage over them. Luckily, Tampa Bay's next three games are all against teams that would have Top 10 picks if the season ended today in the Giants, Panthers, and Raiders.
Tampa just didn't look itself without Evans and Godwin at wide receiver, and getting back half of that dynamic duo will be a massive boost for Baker Mayfield. Time will tell if that boost can actually propel them back into the postseason picture.