TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — If Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff berth while also helping star receiver Mike Evans make NFL history, the Buccaneers would like to do it.
A victory Sunday over struggling NFC South rival New Orleans would give the Bucs (9-7) a fourth straight division title and ensure the team begins postseason play with a home game.
While winning clearly is the top priority, the surging Bucs would also like to see Evans match Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s record with an 11th consecutive season with 1,000 yards receiving.
Evans, the only player in league history to begin a career with 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons, would also a break tie with Hall of Famer Randy Moss for the second-most 1,000-yard seasons receiving all-time. Rice is first with 14.
“Winning is the most important thing, so there’s no balance there,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We’re going to win any way we can try to win. We’d like to get him that in the process, but we’re trying to win the game.”
Despite missing three games and most of a fourth with a hamstring injury, Evans enters Tampa Bay's regular-season finale with 915 yards.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield said it’s important to try to help the team’s career receiving and scoring leader keep the impressive streak alive.
With Evans being a huge part of Tampa Bay’s success on offense with 65 catches and 11 TDs, Mayfield sees the Bucs being able to help the 31-year-old receiver without making the game all about personal statistics.
“Let’s put things in perspective. You’re talking about tying somebody (Rice) that has all receiving records across the NFL throughout history. You’re talking about somebody (Evans) that’s consistently been somebody in this community that has raised people up, continued to be the face of this franchise and be there for people, so that record is important for us,” Mayfield said.
“Mike won’t say anything about it, and that’s just who he is. That’s why we love him, that’s why everybody loves him, that’s why he’s been so consistent for so long,” the quarterback added. “It’s never been about just himself. It’s been about winning and trying to find ways to win.”
The Bucs, who’ve won five of six to climb back to the top of the NFC South, can clinch their fifth straight playoff berth with a win over the Saints or if Atlanta (8-8) loses its finale against Carolina.
Tampa Bay won an earlier meeting between the division rivals in New Orleans, scoring the final 27 points to beat rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler 51-27 in his first NFL start.
Rattler is expected to start against the Bucs again Sunday, filling in for the injured Derek Carr.
The Saints, who’ve lost three in a row and are 0-6 without Carr, will take the field for the first time since the Bourbon Street attack that killed 14 New Year's revelers and injured at least 30 more in New Orleans.
“Something like this pulls you back to reality,” interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi said. “The community needs us right now. They need support and everybody’s hurt.
“We’re out here, we’re playing for the community,” Rizzi added. “We’re playing for the city of New Orleans. We’re playing for the state of Louisiana.”
Closing strong
For the second straight year, the Bucs head into the regular-season finale needing to win to clinch the NFC South title and a playoff berth. Tampa Bay is 9-2 in December and January regular-season games since 2023. One of those losses was to the Saints at home on Dec. 31, 2023. That left the Bucs needing to win at Carolina the following week to repeat as division champs.
Last week's 48-14 win over the Panthers suggests Tampa Bay may be peaking at the right time.
“We’ve won five out of six, so we’ve got to win one more,” Bowles said. “I like the way we’re playing right now. We’ve just got to keep the mistakes down.”
Hitting home
Rizzi said this week’s attack in New Orleans “hits home” with him personally.
He grew up in northern New Jersey and knew people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Also, he has five children between the ages of 17 and 26 who’ve gone out in the French Quarter from time to time.
“There’s some people that woke up (on New Year’s Day) and unfortunately lost loved ones that were victims of these attacks — lost sons, lost daughters, lost brothers, lost sisters. And so, certainly not a way to start the New Year, but it certainly puts things in perspective,” Rizzi said.
Challenge accepted
Rizzi said the fact that Tampa Bay is playing for a playoff spot is motivational for New Orleans.
“I want to finish with a challenge for this football team,” Rizzi said. “We haven’t played well the last couple weeks, needless to say, and so I think the challenge is out there for us to respond to that. There’s a lot of guys that want to go out and have a really good performance for their last game of the year.”
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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Fred Goodall, The Associated Press
