Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans entered Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season needing 150 yards to extend his 1,000-yard season streak. That streak was already virtually guaranteed to extend in 2023 regardless of how he performs against the Carolina Panthers, considering there are still a number of games left on Tampa Bay' schedule. He did not want to waste time, though, so he went out and embarrassed the Panthers' defense with an explosive showing downfield.
When it was all said and done in the Buccaneers' 21-18 home win over Carolina, Mike Evans came up with a total of 162 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches and 12 targets.
“Yeah,” Evans said when asked after the win over Carolina if he still feels great at this point of his career in the NFL (h/t Adam Slivon of Pewter Report). “There were a couple of years – 2018, 2019 – [where] I was really great, but this year… I get smarter each year. The game slows down for me each year, if I’m healthy, I’m a real problem to deal with. I’ve just been blessed with health and learned how to take care of my body as I get older.”
Indeed, Evans remains a huge thorn in the side of opposing NFL defenses. He is getting older but he's still more than a handful to deal with downfield in large part because of his combination of size and skill.
With his scintillating performance against the Panthers, Mike Evans managed to extend his streak of 1,000-yards season to 10, which means he's never recorded fewer than 1,000 yards since he entered the NFL in 2014.