The record that the Bucs need to be worrying about first and foremost on Sunday afternoon when they host the Panthers is their win-loss record. They need to do everything they can to beat this 1-10 Carolina team to move from 4-7 to 5-7 and keep themselves alive in the NFC South race.
There is plenty of division within the Tampa Bay fan base about what’s best for the team over the final six games of the regular season. A lot of the talk is about the future, which of course involves the Bucs losing more than they win down the stretch to secure a better draft pick. After all, the argument goes, what good does it do to win this bad division and crash out of the playoffs in the first round again?
There’s validity to that, of course, but there isn’t a reality whatsoever where the coaches and players in that building at One Buc Place are going to willfully jump into tank mode. Todd Bowles’ head coaching career is on the line, and the fate of his coaching staff is bound to be determined by his future as well.
Baker Mayfield is still out to prove he’s a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. A host of other players know their futures with Tampa Bay and even in the league as a whole are uncertain and not promised.
So yes, while discourse for some of the fan base may continue to be about the future and tanking for better draft positioning, the Bucs are going to do whatever they can to make a run over the next month-plus to get to the playoffs for a fourth straight year and win the NFC South for the third consecutive time.
Beyond all of that, though, there are more milestones and records to be reached for some of the guys who will be wearing white and pewter at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Last week, Mike Evans scored two touchdowns to tie Davante Adams (active), Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters for 32nd-most total touchdowns in NFL history (91). Will Gholston also tied John Lynch (164) for the sixth-most games played in Bucs history.
Now, let’s see where things stand heading into Week 13.
Evans is now one touchdown of any kind away from passing Davante Adams (active), Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters for 32nd-most total touchdowns in NFL history (91). He is also one receiving touchdown away from tying Adams (active) and Bruce for 13th-most in league history (91).
With two more receiving touchdowns, Evans will pass former teammate Rob Gronkowski for 12th-most receiving touchdowns in NFL history (92).
With six games to go, Evans is primed to keep climbing the all-time leaderboard for most receiving yards through 10 seasons of a career. He needs 93 more yards to pass Larry Fitzgerald (11,367) for eighth-most, while 345 more will move him ahead of Calvin Johnson (11,619) for seventh-most.
With two touchdowns last week and nine on the season, Evans is only 39 points away from passing Martin Gramatica (592) for the most points scored in Bucs history.
Evans is close to extending his 1,000-yard season streak to 10 straight, as he needs 150 more over the final six games. With a big enough day against the Panthers on Sunday, he can get there.
Finally, Sunday will mark Evans’ 149th game, which will move him ahead of Shelton Quarles (149) for 10th-most games played in Bucs history. From there, he needs nine more to tie Mike Alstott (158) for ninth.
Godwin is having a slow season in terms of production. But he’s still up there in terms of all-time leading receivers in Bucs history and can still make more moves to solidify his spot behind Mike Evans. With one more receiving touchdown, he’ll tie Jimmie Giles for second-most in team history (34). His next touchdown of any kind will also move him ahead of Giles (34) for fourth-most total touchdowns in franchise history.
Godwin also only needs one more catch to join Evans as the only players in Bucs history to reach 500 receptions with the team.
Sunday will be Godwin’s 99th game as a Buc, moving him ahead of Earnest Graham and Booger McFarland (98) for 47th-most in franchise history. He’ll now be one game away from joining a tie for 41st-most (100 games). That’s a tie that includes Mike Washington, Pete Pierson, Davin Joseph, Ron Hall, Gerald Carter and Cedric Brown.
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