Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 10-7-22

Sports
First-Place Battle With Falcons Completes Bucs' Homestands Sunday At 1 P. M.
Self-Inflicted Errors Doom Bucs In 41-31 Loss To Chiefs
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers, who faced the NFL's most difficult strength-of- schedule over the first four weeks of the 2022 season, emerged with a 2-2 record and now face a Week Five battle for first place in the NFC South.
The Buccaneers have had a rough start to their current three-game homestand, los- ing to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, but can still claim a hold on the division lead by beating the upstart Atlanta Falcons on
Sunday, October 9 at Ray- mond James Stadium. At- lanta, which finished the 2021 season with a 7-9 record and then traded franchise quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, 23-20, to run its record to 2-2. Now led by for- mer first-round pick Marcus Mariota, the Falcons lost close games to the Saints and Rams to start the season be- fore dropping the Seahawks and Brown over the past two weeks.
It was too little, too late for the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers on Sunday night, as their last-ditch efforts at a comeback fell short in a 41-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Self-inflicted errors plagued the Bucs from the start, as rookie running back Rachaad White fumbled the opening kickoff, setting up a quick touchdown for the Chiefs. Kansas City would eventually build a three- score lead in the first half, though the Bucs would cut into it with a pair of touch- down passes from Tom Brady to Mike Evans, in- cluding one in the final sec- onds of the first half.
The Bucs would cut the Chiefs’ lead to two scores multiple times, but could
Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes Probably Meet For The Final Time
TOM BRADY AND PATRICK MAHOMES
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers fell to 2-2 after a 41-31 loss Sunday night to the Kansas City Chiefs, failing to overcome a slow start and tons of self-inflicted errors in all three phases of the game.
After the game, Bucs quar- terback Tom Brady, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Ma- homes met at the middle of the field to shake hands...The GOAT giving the future GOAT the crown.
Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and forces him to fumble the ball.
Mike Evans' Latest Record A 'Huge Blessing'
never get closer than that, as Patrick Mahomes and company moved the ball at will for most of the night against a Tampa Bay defense that turned in easily their worst performance of the 2022 season so far.
Tampa Bay was forced to abandon the run early, which led to a strong stat line for Brady, who completed 39 of 52 passes for 385 yards, three touchdowns and no in- terceptions. Brady did lose a critical fumble on a strip- sack that helped set up an- other score for Kansas City.
While Mahomes im- pressive as usual, it was Kansas City’s ability to dom- inate on the ground that might have been the most disappointing part of Sunday night’s game for Tampa Bay fans. The Chiefs racked up 189 yards rushing, while the Bucs managed just three.
Mike Evans led the Bucs with 103 yards on eight re- ceptions, including the 17th multi-touchdown game of his career. Evans also became the Bucs’ all-time leader in total yardage, passing run- ning back James Wilder.
Mike Evans returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense in Week Four and made an immediate impact, starting with his 30-yard catch early in the second quarter of Sunday night's 41- 31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Evans caught the ball over the middle but was even- tually dropped at the Chiefs' 34 on a hard hit by safety Justin Reid.
"Yes, it got me like right under the chin, it was a good hit," said Evans after the game. "I should have run a better route – I probably could have had another touchdown there, but it's football."
The Bucs had 376 yards of offense in the loss, almost all of it through the air, and Evans led the way with eight grabs for 103 yards and a touchdown. That score came just a few plays after his first big catch, as he snared a 13- yarder in traffic at the back of the end zone to make it a 21- 10 game.
Evans' first catch of the game had franchise signi- fance. Early in the second quarter, Tom Brady went to him deep over the middle and the veteran receiver hauled it in for a 30-yard reception. That gain gave him the fran-
MIKE EVANS
chise's all-time lead in yards from scrimmage, adding to his impressive ledger of records during his nine years with the Buccaneers.
"It's a huge blessing," said Evans. "Honestly, I didn't even know I was even close to that, but it is a huge blessing, and we'll just keep on tacking onto it."
Evans now has 9,546 yards from scrimmage, breaking the record set by former running back James Wilder (9,449) that had stood for more than two decades. This latest standard makes it clear: Mike Evans is the most accomplished of- fensive player in the Bucca- neers' 46-season franchise history. His new standard adds to his previous team records for overall touch- downs, receiving touch- downs, receptions and receiving yards.
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