Buccaneers WR Mike Evans makes NFL history with 10th straight 1,000-yard season

Mike Evans made NFL history on Sunday afternoon, and joined an elite group of wide receivers in the process.

Evans racked up 162 receiving yards in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. That pushed Evans past 1,000 receiving yards on the season for the 10th time in his career, which made him the first receiver in league history to hit the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first 10 seasons in the NFL.

Evans is the second wide receiver to rack up at least 10 straight seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards in his career. Hall of Famer Jerry Rice did so 11 times from 1986-1996 in his career, and had 14 total 1,000-yard seasons. Rice is currently the all-time receiving yards leader with 22,895 yards. Julio Jones is the closest active player to Rice on that list at No. 16. Evans entered Sundays’ game at No. 37 on that list with 11,275 career yards.

Randy Moss also had 10 1,000-yard seasons in his career, though they weren’t consecutive. Moss is the only other player in league history to hit double digits.

Evans has been one of the most reliable receivers since he entered the league in 2014, when the Buccaneers used the No. 7 overall pick to grab him out of Texas A&M. Evans had 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns during his rookie season, and has hit at least 1,000 yards in every campaign since. The 30-year-old has been close to breaking that streak a few times, though, and was just 1 yard over the mark in 2017. He had 1,006 yards in 2020, and had 1,035 yards in 2021.

Sunday marked the third time this season Evans surpassed 100 receiving yards in a single game. He had 171 yards against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, and then had 143 against the Tennessee Titans last month. Evans had 162 yards and a touchdown on seven catches in Sunday’s win. His diving score came on a huge 75-yard grab midway through the third quarter, which put Tampa Bay back in the lead.

Evans then hit the 1,000-yard mark on an 11-yard catch in the fourth quarter.

Baker Mayfield — who is the sixth starting quarterback who has played with Evans in his career — completed 14 of 29 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Panthers. Rachaad White had 84 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. White was also Tampa's next-leading receiver with 22 yards on three catches.

Bryce Young went 15-of-31 for 178 yards and an interception in the loss for the Panthers, who are 1-11 on the season. Chuba Hubbard had 104 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, and Jonathan Mingo had 69 yards on six catches.

Evans and the Bucs, who are 5-7 this season, will take on the Atlanta Falcons next week.