Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans on Sunday kept one of the most impressive streaks in sports alive, and he got some help from the New Orleans Saints.
Evans had 9 catches for 89 yards in the Buccaneers’ 27-19 win over the Saints at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The yardage was enough to push the veteran over 1,000 receiving yards for the season. Evans is now tied with Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at 11 in a row. Evans also built upon his record of most 1,000-yard receiving seasons to begin an NFL career.
The Saints had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but they turned the ball over on downs with 36 seconds remaining. New Orleans had just one timeout, so the Bucs could have kneeled out the remainder of the clock. Evans was only at 995 yards at that point, however.
After calling a timeout, the Buccaneers schemed up a play for Evans to catch a short pass to keep his 1,000-yard streak alive. Everyone on the planet knew where the ball was going, but the Saints left Evans wide open:
MIKE EVANS DID IT!!! pic.twitter.com/SljpceKN9W
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 5, 2025
In addition to extending his 1,000-yard streak, Evans also secured a $3 million bonus from an incentive in his contract. The five-time Pro Bowl wideout owes a lot of people dinner.
Rice is now the only player in NFL history with more 1,000-yard seasons than Evans. Rice has 14, while Evans is at 11 and counting.
What makes Evans’ feat so impressive is that he missed three games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury. It looked like his streak was in serious jeopardy at the time, but he once again proved that he is one of the most underrated players in NFL history.
