Photo by Sofía García Vargas | The Crow’s Nest
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are stronger than they’ve ever been and this time they have an NFC South title to prove that — for the fourth year in a row.
After beating the New Orleans Saints 27-19 on Jan. 5 in a roaring Raymond James Stadium, not only did the team crowned the south, but also clinched a spot in a Wild Card game against the Washington Commanders this week.
The first half of the game held a slow start for the Bucs.
Saints kicker Blake Grupe opened the scoreboard with a 35-yard field goal 5:41 into the game. Tampa Bay responded with a 52-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin 4:25 after that, tying the game 3-3.
Just eight seconds into the second quarter, Grupe put New Orleans up again 6-3 with a 39-yard field goal, followed by a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Rattler to wide receiver Dante Pettis.
McLaughlin closed the gap once more with a 25-yard field goal with 1:03 left, but Grupe scored a 39-yard one with seven seconds left in the quarter, ending the half 16-6 in favor of the visiting team.
Despite the game not being over, the attention slightly shifted toward the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons matchup as with a Falcons loss, Tampa Bay would still win the NFC South and clinch the playoffs berth.
However, whatever pep talk Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles gave the team during halftime seemed to work as the team dominated the second half to pull the win.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield connected a 6-yard pass to tight end Payne Durham followed by a successful McLaughlin kick to put the game at 16-13 with 10:27 left in the third. Grupe connected again with a 49-yard field goal to put the Saints up 19-13.
With the last quarter upon them, Tampa Bay knew it had to give its all to keep the playoff dream alive.
Hope was restored 4:33 into the quarter with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan followed by a successful kick by McLaughlin to give the Buccaneers its first lead of the game at 20-19.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving settled the score at 27-19 with an 11-yard run with 1:51 left in the game.
The team could’ve stopped there and not risk a tie with a touchdown and 2-point conversion by New Orleans, but instead decided to run a play that would put wide receiver Mike Evans in Tampa Bay’s history books.
With 89 receiving yards in the game, Evans completed his 11th season with over 1,000 yards, a feat only achieved by one player — Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
The crowd erupted in a single, loud roar as it knew the value of the achievement for the player, especially after missing three games due to a hamstring injury during the matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 21 of last year.
“I was hoping to get a shot because I cannot pass up history,” said Evans in the post-game press conference. “Coach Bowles did not want to pass it up nor [offensive coordinator] Liam [Coen], so they had me go out there and get that because it has been hard to do for 11-straight years and to be tied with one of – if not the greatest receiver of all time – it means a lot to me and my family…The defense knew the record was on the line too. They were trying to get off the field and obviously [the Saints] were down eight points, so [the defense was] trying to stop them to give me another opportunity to chase history. I appreciate them for that.”
The game was also a homecoming for Saints’ wide receiver and former USF Bull, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who had 33 receiving yards and two touchdown attempts, which were deemed out of bounds by the referees.
Tampa Bay will now face the Washington Commanders at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12 at Raymond James Stadium. The winner will face either the Green Bay Packers or the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs.
