The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has been struggling due to the injury absence of their star receivers, Chris Godwin, who suffered a dislocated ankle injury, and veteran Mike Evans, who has been out with a hamstring injury. Both players have been out of the offensive lineup since Week 7 in the game against the Baltimore Ravens, which the Bucs lost. Since then, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost three straight games by single digits. The Bucs offense has not been the same since their absence and has been slow starting in most games. How could the Bucs offense get a jump start?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently 4-6 with seven more games left in the season. Their window of achieving a fourth straight NFC South divisional title is slowly closing. As of right now, only one team of the seven games left is over .500. Chances for the Bucs to grab the title could be within grasp, but with a struggling offense and a run game that isn’t strong enough to bear the load to move the offense downfield. Chances are the Bucs won’t win their fourth straight divisional title. So, what could get the Bucs in a better position to win some games and not walk away with more L’s?
Mike Evans
Mike Evans, a veteran receiver for the Bucs, will return to the field this week against the New York Giants. The Giants just released Quarterback Daniel Jones. Mike Evans is on a journey to accomplish 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons. Evans needs 665 more yards to complete such a task. With seven games remaining, Evans must gain over 95 yards per game. Mike Evans is tied with NFL Hall of Fame Legend Randy Moss for most 1000-yard seasons, and the NFL Hall of Fame Legend Jerry Rice holds the record with 14.
Mike Evans in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineup may give them the edge to prevent losing such close games. Before Evans exited the game in the second quarter of the Baltimore Ravens‘ loss 41 -31, the Bucs veteran receiver had the second-most touchdowns in the league with six. With Evans returning to the offense, Head coach Todd Bowles had this to say, according to team reporter Scott Smith,
Offensive Boost
Since losing Bucs receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, Quarterback Baker Mayfield has still found ways to push the offense downfield for scores. Since their absence, Mayfield has thrown six touchdowns and two interceptions. Mayfield has also leaned on Bucs tight end Cade Otton as his new go-to guy. Otton has caught 22 receptions for 193 yards with three touchdowns. With Evans back in practice, Mayfield had this to say, according to ESPN’s reporter Jenna Laine,
The Bucs’ run game has improved throughout the season, averaging over 100 yards in seven of the ten games played. The Bucs are ranked 16th in rushing in the league. Bucs Running Backs Rachaad White and excelling rookie Bucky Irving have been impressive during the season. For the run game as a whole, since the departure of the Bucs’ top receivers, the offense has gained 307 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. Evans added options for completing third downs, and scoring could go up. The Bucs’ offense would still have to mix up the offense to score and win some much-needed games.
Final Thoughts
The Bucs will play the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The Giants are currently 2-8; not to say this could be an easy win for the Bucs, but this could be an easy win for the Bucs. The Bucs’ defense would need to pressure the offense to make mistakes. The bigger question would be, could we have a big game against the Giants? When playing the Giants, Evans has gained the second most yards in his career against opposing teams. Could Evans gain over 100 yards to continue his journey to another 1000-yard season?
