Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Studs and duds from Week 4 vs. Chargers
Stud: Mike Evans
Mike Evans was a monster on Sunday. Despite what looked to be a bad ankle injury in the first half, Evans went back into the game and played through the pain for a game total of seven catches and 122 yards with one touchdown. Evans was noticeably limping between plays and on the sideline during the second half but this didn’t stop him from dominating the Chargers secondary.
He was often open and he provided Brady a confident source to get the ball to during the team’s comeback. He also provided some of the big plays the team needed to help loosen up the defense. He was invaluable at times during Sunday’s game.
Dud: Buccaneers lack of discipline
The Buccaneers once again struggled with discipline and mental errors throughout Sunday’s game. The first touchdown thrown by Herbert to Tyron Johnson seemed to be a blown coverage by someone in the secondary. The team also had eight penalties for a total of 90 yards which were costly in a game decided by one possession.
Additionally, Brady threw a bad interception and saw it returned for a 73-yard touchdown. The mental errors continued with a bad Mike Evans penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in a situation where Evans just simply lost control of his temper and emotions. Evans allowed the Chargers to bait him into a bad penalty.
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Whitehead’s late hit on Herbert was another unforced error as Herbert was clearly going out of bounds on the play. These are the types of mental mistakes the team will need to clean up if they truly want to be a Super Bowl contender. The team will need to cut down on the unforced errors before it costs them wins.