7 winners (and 2 losers) from Buccaneers impressive win over Chargers

It seems everything is going right for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a four-game losing streak nearly derailed their season, the Bucs are back on top of the NFC South and now control the No. 3 seed in the NFC.

This comes not long after things were about as gloomy as they could be. Fans were calling for Todd Bowles to be fired, Chris Godwin was lost for the season, Mike Evans missed three games, and the vibes were as negative as they've been in a while.

What we all forgot was how the Bucs haven't shown us that they easily give up in a fight, which is what the last four games have been all about. It's hardly been a breezy season but Tampa Bay has clawed its way back in ways we still aren't used to seeing from a team that so easily rolled over for so many years.

Sunday's thumping of the Chargers was one of the most impressive wins we've seen this season. Todd Bowles out-coached Jim Harbaugh, the Bucs depleted defense beat up a quality Justin Herbet-led offense, and the Bucs proved they firmly belong in the playoff conversation as the end of the season nears.

Winners and losers from the Buccaneers 40-17 route over Chargers

Winner: Mike Evans, WR

We might be witnessing the most impressive season of Mike Evans' career right now. Despite missing three games earlier this year with a hamstring injury, Evans is right on track to continue his streak of 1,000-yard seasons and proved once again on Sunday why he's the best offensive player in Buccaneers' franchise history.

Evans came into Week 15 needing 410 yards the rest of the season to reach 1,000 yards. He went off on the No. 1 scording defense in the NFL for 159 yards and two touchdowns, which was all sorts of amazing to watch.

Now Evans needs just 251 more yards over the next three games to keep his streak alive. That's an average of around 83 yards per game, which is still a lot of work but seems well within what we can expect out of Evans on even his most mediocre day.

Winner: Jalen McMillan, WR

Mike Evans was by far the most impressive player in Sunday's win, but he wasn't the only wide receiver who stood out. Rookie Jalen McMillan is starting to find his groove in the offense and put together another impressive week.

He finished Sunday's game with 75 yards and a touchdown, which came on the opening drive of the game. For the second straight week we saw Liam Coen filter the offense through McMillan to start the game before flipping the switch on Evans, which has proven to be a powerful combo.

It took a bit for the rookie to get his footing, but now that he's settling in, he's looking exactly like the player Tampa Bay needed in its offense.

Loser: Everything about the 2nd Quarter

Plenty of things have gone wrong for the Bucs this year, but for some reason one of the most consistent flaws is whatever the heck happens in the second quarter of games.

Once again on Sunday, the team floundered after a great start and cratered hard in the second quarter. Baker Mayfield looked off, the team was making dumb mistakes, and the vibes got bleak in a hurry.

We saw them do this last week against a bad Raiders team and it all goes back to how the Bucs blew a 17-point lead in New Orleans back in Week 6. Just like on Sunday against the Chargers, Tampa Bay ultimately adjusted and flipped the script by blowing their opponent out in the second half, but it's a frustratingly dangerous game the Bucs are playing.

If the Bucs want to make a serious run in the playoffs they have to shore up whatever is causing them to go off the rails in the second quarter of games. The Chargers are a quality team and even better ones won't let the Bucs off the hook so easily.

Winner: Baker Mayfield, QB

Despite another interception and some bad decisions, Baker Mayfield had another phenomenal day. He finished the day with 288 yards and four touchdowns, plus a handful of gritty runs.

It wasn't a perfect day by any means, but the fact that Baker bounced back the way he did after some early mistakes is a reminder that the Bucs will never bow out of a fight. It's a diluted version of what Bucs fans dealt with in Jameis Winston where the payoff is worth the assumed risk; Baker is going to make some mistakes but he's proven he'll make good on it later.

Making his day even more impressive is that it came against the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL. He carved the Chargers secondary up, specifically in the second half, and completely dominated one of the best defenses the Bucs have seen all season. With the playoffs on the horizon, this was exactly the sort of confidence-building game he needed to have.

Winner: Lavonte David, LB

Tampa Bay's ageless wonder continued to defy all sorts of logic another vintage performance. Although, to call anything Lavonte David does 'vintage' is a disservice -- he's still as good as he looks and he remains in top form even though other linebacker his age begin to show signs of regression by now.

David led the team in tackles with 12 total and eight on his own, and recorded 1.5 sacks on Justin Hebert. He got to the Chargers' quarterback early in the game, a sack that let Herbert know it was going to be a long afternoon of pressure.

The Bucs got 10 quarterback hits on Herbet, with David accounting for three of them. He was all over the field on Sunday and was truly the captain that the defense needed at a time when the ranks were so desperately thin. Tampa Bay has been eaten alive by the injury bug, but you wouldn't have been able to tell that the team was down its starting inside linebackers, two safeties, and Antoine Winfield Jr. the way David played.