Eagles vs. Bucs Winner Determined by Mike Evans' Play?
The Philadelphia Eagles moved to 2-0 with a Week 2 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, despite allowing All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson to catch 11 passes for 159 yards. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai will be left to try to slow down another Canton-caliber wideout in Week 3, as the Eagles play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.
While he certainly benefited from having Tom Brady as his quarterback for three seasons, receiver Mike Evans had six consecutive 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons before ever playing a game with the greatest player in NFL history.
And in a post-Brady world, Evans has shown no signs of slowing down. If anything, Evans has found another gear early this season, as he's posted 12 catches for 237 yards and two touchdowns with quarterback Baker Mayfield to help the Buccaneers to a surprising 2-0 start.
It will be interesting to see if the Week 3 gameplan from the Eagles is to try and force someone other than Evans to beat them, or to let the four-time Pro Bowler get his and try to make sure receiver Chris Godwin and running back Rachaad White don't add enough production for Tampa Bay to win.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY
A first-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2014, Evans has been immensely productive since setting foot in Tampa Bay. While Brady provided some stability for the last three seasons, Evans has had success with everyone from Josh McCown to Mike Glennon to Ryan Fitzpatrick to Jameis Winston throwing him the ball. And given that he already has 10,662 career receiving yards, if Evans' chemistry with Mayfield is as good as it's looked through the first two weeks, he may cement himself as a future Hall of Famer in the coming seasons.
Evans is in the final year of his contract. He and the Buccaneers weren't able to reach a long-term extension prior to the start of the season, with general manager Jason Licht and the Buccaneers seemingly hesitant to commit into the future with a 30-year-old receiver.
But if the first two weeks are any indication, the Buccaneers may regret not reaching an extension with Evans, who very much looks like he's still in his prime and could force Tampa Bay to use the franchise tag on him after the season.
