Buccaneers' Head Coach Todd Bowles Comments on Mike Evans' Injury
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a crucial division victory over the New Orleans Saints this afternoon, winning by a score of 26-9.
Despite the extremely encouraging performance overall -- which allowed the Buccaneers to take over first place in the NFC South Division -- it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Not only did starting safety, Ryan Neal, have to leave the game early with a concussion. But the Buccaneers' best offensive player, Mike Evans, was also forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury shortly before halftime.
READ MORE: Buccaneers' QB Baker Mayfield Suffers Nasty Late Hit From Saints
Although he was initially listed as questionable to return, the team announced early in the second half that Evans would remain out for the rest of the game.
Following the game, head coach Todd Bowles was asked if he'd received an update on Evans' status.
“Not yet. He’s just tweaked it right now. We’ll see how serious it is, or isn’t, once we get out of here, and once they run some more tests on it," Bowles said after the game. "But I thought the guys came in, stepped up. Thompkins, Trey, Jarrett, all them guys really stepped up.”
It's true.
Evans was clearly Baker Mayfield's favorite target early on in this game. His three catches for 40 yards, and a big DPI drawn on Marshon Lattimore, helped the Bucs jump out to a 14-3 lead nearing halftime.
Whether or not the Buccaneers could shoulder the offensive load to keep the pressure on the Saints' defense was a big question mark once Evans was ruled out.
But like Bowles said, plenty of other players stepped up in his absence.
Godwin led the team with eight receptions for 114 yards, including several explosive plays that allowed the Bucs to get deep into New Orleans territory.
Thompkins had the best performance of his career as a receiver, highlighted by a spectacular diving catch in the end zone on third down.
Rookie receiver Trey Palmer also found on the end zone on a jump ball that he plucked out of the air over a Saints defender.
The loss of Mike Evans was not ideal. Evans has a history of hamstring injuries, but the timing of this one could have been much worse with the Bucs now headed for their early Week 5 bye. That will give Evans a full two weeks to recover.
That said, having a player as good as Chris Godwin operating as the team's WR2 is an incredibly valuable asset for the Buccaneers. Godwin's skills were fully utilized by Baker Mayfield and the Bucs' offense in the second half of today's game.
Further, the impressive contributions from younger players like Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins, and Cade Otton -- each of whom scored a touchdown -- were the difference in the game.
Hopefully, Evans will be good to go when the Buccaneers return from their bye week to play the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday, October 15.
READ MORE: Buccaneers Take NFC South Division Lead with 26-9 Win Over Saints
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