Guaranteed Hall of Famer Mike Evans rushes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the Buccaneers’ win over the Chargers

At halftime, Evans had just six catches for 44 yards and a yardage of 12. Like the rest of the Bucs offense, he provided explosive plays in the final two quarters as Tampa ran away with its fourth straight win. The first TD turned the game around.

“I mean, obviously Mike has always had the ability to change the game on any play, but I mean the scramble play where he moves all over the field, he’s the outside receiver on the right side, works across that All the way and just try.” “I have to keep my eyes down and it’s always working,” Mayfield said. “He makes that play, of course he makes the catch, but after the catch is the big difference. He just keeps going. He just keeps going.”

With Mayfield playing at a Pro Bowl level and Evans dominating like a Hall of Famer, the 8-6 Bucs increased their lead in the NFC South. Next Gen Stats gives Tampa an 81 percent chance of winning the division before the Atlanta Falcons take the field on Monday night.

Even with a banged up defense, the Bucs showed they had the offensive firepower to outrun good opponents. Mayfield praised offensive coordinator Liam Cohen for taking advantage of the variety of offensive weapons.

“I can only imagine what it’s like for a defensive coordinator to compete against us,” Mayfield said. “Staff changes: 13 personnel (one tight end, three receivers), 21 (two backs, one tight end), 11 (one running back, one tight end). And the question is: how do you defend that? There are a lot of plays in the same formation, so it’s hard to defend that.”

It also helps to have a Hall of Fame receiver who rushes for 150 yards.