TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Just 36 seconds away from clinching the NFC South title, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had another goal to achieve.
Take a knee on their 32-yard line and run out the clock?
No chance. Mike Evans still needed 5 yards to make history.
Evans caught a 9-yard pass on the final play of the game to surpass 1,000 yards for the 11th straight season, tying Jerry Rice for the most ever in the NFL and setting off a wild celebration following Tampa Bay's 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
“He always (puts the team first),” Baker Mayfield said of Evans. “That’s why you love him. We’re lucky to have him. He’s underappreciated throughout the media and the league. He’s one of one. He deserves that. You saw the stadium erupt. You saw the sideline erupt. You can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him.”
Mayfield used his legs and arm to help the Buccaneers secure their fourth straight division championship, rallying the team from a 16-6 deficit for his first career win after trailing by 10 or more points. Mayfield had been 0-43 in those situations.
The Buccaneers (10-7) will host the Washington Commanders (12-5) next Sunday night in a wild-card playoff game. It's a rematch of Tampa Bay's 37-20 victory over Washington in Week 1 in rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels' first game.
Mayfield fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan for the go-ahead score and then scrambled 28 yards for a crucial first down on the next drive. After Mayfield’s long scramble on third-and-14 from the Tampa 12, the Buccaneers drove to the Saints 11. Mayfield looked for Evans but flipped the ball backward to Bucky Irving, who ran 11 yards for a TD.
The Saints turned the ball over on downs and the Buccaneers got one more chance to get Evans the milestone.
Mayfield tossed a short pass to Evans, who ran upfield for a 9-yard gain. He got up, spiked the ball and was mobbed by teammates.
“I was hoping we got a stop because I can't pass up history,” said Evans, who missed several games this season with a hamstring injury. “I'm happy they let me go out and get that. It's hard to do for 11 straight years. To be tied with one of, if not the greatest receiver of all time, it means a lot to me and my family.”
Mayfield threw for 212 yards and two TDs and had a career-high 68 yards rushing as the Buccaneers (10-7) made sure they didn’t need Atlanta to lose to Carolina to win the division. The Falcons eventually lost in overtime.
Spencer Rattler had 240 yards passing and one TD for the Saints (5-12).
The Buccaneers trailed most of the game and were down 16-6 at halftime. They went ahead when Mayfield connected with McMillan for a score in the fourth quarter. McMillan was penalized 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike penalty after making a 33-yard catch that extended the drive on fourth-and-8. The rookie receiver signaled first down in a gesture that was interpreted as mimicking shooting a gun. That pushed the Buccaneers back from the 9 to the 24.
But McMillan made up for it with a toe-tapping catch in the end zone for his seventh TD in the past five games.
“My fingers were taped so I didn't really think about it,” McMillan said of the gun gesture. “But I messed up. I kept my composure and that's football, you have highs and lows. ... and the ball found me again.”
The Saints scored on their first four possessions, including Rattler’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis.
Facing a depleted secondary missing three starters, Rattler carved up Tampa’s defense in the first half. He completed 21 of 28 for 151 yards while building a 10-point lead.
With Tom Brady watching from the television booth, the Buccaneers secured their fifth straight playoff appearance and finished with the No. 3 seed. The postseason streak began in 2020 when Brady left the Patriots to join Tampa Bay and led the Buccaneers to the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
Mayfield stepped in last year after Brady retired, revived his career and helped the Buccaneers advance to the divisional round.
Mayfield had a career year this season, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 TDs.
The Saints finished a disappointing season that began with plenty of promise. New Orleans opened 2-0, outscoring the Panthers and Cowboys 91-29. But the Saints fell apart, coach Dennis Allen lost his job and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi took over on an interim basis.
“For us to be playing for nothing and for our guys to go out there and give the effort they gave, it's pretty remarkable,” Rizzi said. “Right up to the last play of the season, our guys are fighting, scratching, clawing. That's a credit to them.”
The Buccaneers were 0-6 this season when they didn’t score first. Blake Grupe kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Saints a 3-0 lead on the opening drive.
Saints: S Tyrann Mathieu left the game with a concussion in the fourth quarter.
Buccaneers: S Antoine Winfield Jr (knee), TE Cade Otton (knee) and CB WR Jamel Dean (knee) were inactive. S Jordan Whitehead also didn’t play because he was injured in a car accident
Saints: Head coaching search.
Buccaneers: Host a wild-card playoff game vs. Washington on Sunday night.
___
