It was another strange day for Mike Evans.
The Buccaneers superstar receiver finished the day with over 150 yards receiving, but for most of the game it was the passes he didn't catch that had everyone talking. Evans had a pair of absolutely brutal drops in the second and third quarter,
At one point, Evans lost his temper on the Bucs sideline following a drop that would have extended a potential scoring drive if not gone for a touchdown. Roger McCreary seemed to knock the ball out of Evans hands, but closer looks revealed that it was more of a drop than anything else.
Coverage by McCreary was decent, but the ball was as on the money as it gets yet Evans still dropped the pass.
Roger McCreary has been outstanding for #Titans today. Crucial 3rd down PBU vs. Mike Evans. pic.twitter.com/Ll6uajE9cp
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) November 12, 2023
It happened again on the first drive of the second half. With the Bucs knocking on the door of scoring, Evans dropped what should have been an automatic touchdown catch.
Mike Evans with a bad drop in the endzone… pic.twitter.com/3g5ZtanyEM
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) November 12, 2023
In between those two drops, Evans lost his cool a bit on the Bucs sideline. CBS camera caught him slamming a fist into the water cooler as he sat by himself visibly upset over his last drop of the first half.
Mike Evans is beside himself on the sidelines pic.twitter.com/cm4IRE14wn
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 12, 2023
Evans made up for it not long after, though.
On the Bucs second possession in the third quarter, Baker hit Evans on a catch-and-run that saw him power his way into the endzone. After the drops earlier in the game -- including that one a drive prior -- there was no way Evans was going to be denied.
Mike Evans is too strong 💪
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
📺: #TENvsTB on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/Mvd9mu4GpW
This isn't the first time Evans has encountered a bad case of butterfingers. He had some bad drops in the Bucs loss to the Eagles back in Week 3 and had missed passes in each of the team's four straight losses going back to the bye week.
When he's making plays, though, the Bucs typically win. It happened when he sparked the offense with a touchdown catch before haltime of Week 1 and again the next week against Chicago. He also started to cook against the Saints in Week 4 before leaving with an injury.
It's a simple concept, but it's tried and true. Once Evans started making plays in the second half, the Bucs offense started runnning as smoothly as it had all day.