Three major things happened last Sunday for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but only one was cemented in franchise lore. While the Bucs clinched another NFC South title and punched a ticket to the playoffs for the fifth straight year, Mike Evans reached 1,000 yards for the 11th season in a row.
It’s not just the fact that Evans kept his streak alive, it’s how it happened that made the moment so special.
With no need to run another play after having sealed a 27-19 victory, the Buccaneers ran one more play in order to get Evans the five yards he needed to extend his streak. It was gutsy, as there’s a universe where that whole sequence ended in disaster, but thankfully we don’t live in that reality.
Instead, we’re in the one where Evans secured the catch and kept his streak alive. However, it’s also a reality where former head coach Tony Dungy is being a Scrooge about the whole situation.
Tony Dungy wasn’t a fan of the Buccaneers not taking a knee with Mike Evans’ record on the line
Rodney Harrison spoke about the moment in an NBC special leading up to Sunday night’s Wild Card game, and said that Dungy wasn’t a fan of Tampa Bay bypassing a kneel down in favor of getting the ball to Evans.
“In that moment, Coach Dungy was saying, ‘Oh, no, you don’t give him the pass. There’s no way. It could be an interception,'” Harrison said, (H/T JoeBucsFan). “I said, ‘Coach, it’s bigger than that.’ I said, ‘It’s bigger than that. If they don’t get this man this record, this team is going to be affected by it. They know how hard [Evans] works, how much of a productive player he’s been. This is very important to that team.’
Come on, coach. He’s not technically wrong, but this is also another example of what might have been holding the Bucs back from winning a Super Bowl during Dungy’s tenure and how the team managed to do it the instant he was gone.
Harrison also noted that by getting Evans the ball, it’s a testament to the culture that Todd Bowles has built in Tampa Bay. Giving Bowles compliments is controversial to some, but Harrison is spot on with his assessment.
The catch was bigger than just getting Evans the record, which was evident by the jubilant reaction by everyone on the sideline. Players swarmed Evans in a way that showed just how tight-knit the locker room is, and it was a moment orchestrated by Bowles as a way to get the vibes right ahead of a huge playoff matchup.
Tampa Bay is in the playoffs for the fifth straight year, which means expectations are higher than they’ve been before. We shouldn’t forget where we came from, but at the same time progress needs to be made. We saw that out of the coaching staff as the team pulled itself out of a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season to finish 6-1 and capture a fourth straight NFC South title.
Bowles could have played it safe, but he opted to channel his inner Bruce Arians and risk it for the biscuit. It all worked out perfectly, but the ripple effect of that moment and the belief in his team might resonate further than just a simple catch to extend a streak.
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