Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans was held to just five catches for 69 yards in Tampa Bay’s stunning 26-24 loss at Dallas on Sunday Night Football. While Evans has 818 receiving yards on the year and still needs 182 yards over the last two games to finish with another 1,000-yard season for an NFL-record 11th straight year, that was the furthest thing on the future Hall of Famer’s mind after his Bucs team fell to 8-7 and saw its playoff hopes take a big hit in Big D.
Evans is more interested in helping Tampa Bay make the playoffs for a fifth straight season rather than individual records, and Sunday’s loss to a Cowboys team that was eliminated from the postseason prior to kickoff put that in jeopardy. The Bucs’ loss coupled with the Falcons’ 34-7 win over the Giants put 8-7 Atlanta in the driver’s seat to win the NFC South by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
After the game, Evans was clearly unhappy with his team’s performance and sounded off about Tampa Bay’s mistakes.
“Just got to be better,” Evans said. “[The Cowboys] made more plays than us. They were more physical than us. We committed way too many penalties and way too many mistakes. They deserved to win today. They played like they were trying to clinch playoffs. And we didn’t.”
Harsh words from the Bucs’ team captain, yet true.
The Cowboys defense was pressuring quarterback Baker Mayfield often and sacked him four times. Mike Zimmer’s unit was flying around and laying big hits on Evans and other Tampa Bay targets in the passing game. And Dallas defensive backs Jourdan Lewis and DaRon Bland came up with two daring fourth-quarter takeaways to help the Cowboys win the turnover battle, 3-0.
Lewis stole a would-be touchdown away from rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan at the goal line and came away with a killer interception.
“Went over the defender to try to catch it,” McMillan said after the game. “I mean I had it and we fell. He just made a good play and ripped it away from me. Props to him on that play. You can’t really get everything. I wish I had that back. Great play by him.”
Bucs’ Lack Of Ball Security Proved To Be Costly vs. Cowboys
As big as that fourth-quarter interception by Cowboys nickelback Jourdan Lewis was against Jalen McMillan, the Bucs still had a chance to win the game with a Chase McLaughlin field goal, trailing by two points with under two minutes to play. But Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland stripped the ball out of Rachaad White’s hands on the first play of Tampa Bay’s final possession. That ended the game – and the Bucs’ temporary lead over the Falcons in the NFC South.
“He had two hands on the ball, but obviously you have to be careful,” said Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who also had a fumble in the game. “Not to beat a dead horse, but I told him the same thing happened to me earlier in the game. I had it ripped out of my hands, both of my hands. They made some plays when it mattered. It’s all about the ball and they do a good job of taking it away.”
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was dejected by the loss after the game and stated the obvious. Tampa Bay lost the turnover battle 3-0, and that was the deciding factor in the game.
“Hold on to the ball,” Bowles said. “We’ve got to hold on to the ball. Ball security is the No. 1 thing.”
Mayfield echoed that sentiment.
“Overall, it’s about the ball,” Mayfield said. “I think everybody needs to learn that. It’s obvious, I know. But even when you have two hands on it, you’ve got to be overprotective with it – and then it starts with me, too.”
Mayfield was just as frustrated as Mike Evans was after Sunday’s loss. Evans was targeted eight times by Mayfield and had one pass get broken up with a hard hit by safety Donovan Wilson and another pass nearly picked off by Bland.
“On some of the shots, they were covering him up,” Mayfield said. “Some of the down-the-field explosive plays that we tried to dial up for him, they were covering up pretty well. Obviously, he made a great catch on the one-on-one go ball earlier in the game. But yeah, they were typical – what teams do – roll a safety over the top, try and press him up a little bit, and take two guys to take him away.”
Mayfield knows that the Bucs must now win out by beating the Panthers and Saints at home and hope that either the Falcons lose next week versus the Commanders or that the Commanders lose to the Cowboys in Week 18. Either scenario – coupled with a pair of Bucs wins – gets Tampa Bay into the playoffs as either the NFC South champions or a Wild Card team as the seventh seed.
“It’s on to Carolina,” Mayfield said. “If we don’t take care of business we won’t be in the playoffs.”
That starts with better ball security on offense and Bowles’ defense actually taking the ball away, which is something the unit has struggled with all year.
“We just didn’t make any plays,” Bowles said.
And the Cowboys defense made plenty of them.
