–Bucs receiver Mike Evans acknowledged that Sunday’s one-catch game against the Panthers wasn’t his best, but he’s moving on. Evans – who entered Sunday averaging 110 receiving yards – was targeted 10 times, but made just one catch, marking just the third time in 69 career NFL games that he was held to a single catch or fewer.
“That’s just one game,” Evans said Wednesday. “I’ve watched the film. I know where I can improve. Got to make the corrections.”
Evans gave credit to Carolina cornerback James Bradberry, who covered Evans well. Bradberry allowed just one catch on seven balls thrown his way and made three tackles and had two pass breakups. The two players exchanged jerseys after the game.
“I’ve played him like four times in my career,” Evans said. “He’s a really good player. I like his game a lot, really physical. He definitely got the better of me this matchup.”
–The Bucs are minus-15 in turnover ratio, the worst in the NFL. Part of the problem is that the defense never gets the football. Tampa Bay has gone five games without creating a turnover.
“We want that to become a little more of a contagion,” defensive coordinator Mark Duffner said. “I saw it the last two weeks in practice probably the most because our players did it. It happens in practice. It’s something that it’s not by accident that it happens in the game. We’ve just got to continue to do that.”
