Bucs Record Watch 2023: Week 13 vs. Panthers

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The record that the Bucs need to be worrying about first and foremost on Sunday afternoon when they host the Panthers is their win-loss record. They need to do everything they can to beat this 1-10 Carolina team to move from 4-7 to 5-7 and keep themselves alive in the NFC South race. There is plenty of division within the Tampa Bay fan base about what’s best for the team over the final six games of the regular season. A lot of the talk is about the future, which of course involves the Bucs losing more than they win down the stretch to secure a better draft pick. After all, the argument goes, what good does it do to win this bad division and crash out of the playoffs in the first round again? There’s validity to that, of course, but there isn’t a reality whatsoever where the coaches and players in that building at One Buc Place are going to willfully jump into tank mode. Todd Bowles’ head coaching career is on the line, and the fate of his coaching staff is bound to be determined by his future as well. Baker Mayfield is still out to prove he’s a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. A host of other players know their futures with Tampa Bay and even in the league as a whole are uncertain and not promised. So yes, while discourse for some of the fan base may continue to be about the future and tanking for better draft positioning, the Bucs are going to do whatever they can to make a run over the next month-plus to get to the playoffs for a fourth straight year and win the NFC South for the third consecutive time. Beyond all of that, though, there are more milestones and records to be reached for some of the guys who will be wearing white and pewter at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Last week, Mike Evans scored two touchdowns to tie Davante Adams (active), Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters for 32nd-most total touchdowns in NFL history (91). Will Gholston also tied John Lynch (164) for the sixth-most games played in Bucs history. Now, let’s see where things stand heading into Week 13. Mike Evans Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today Evans is now one touchdown of any kind away from passing Davante Adams (active), Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters for 32nd-most total touchdowns in NFL history (91). He is also one receiving touchdown away from tying Adams (active) and Bruce for 13th-most in league history (91). With two more receiving touchdowns, Evans will pass former teammate Rob Gronkowski for 12th-most receiving touchdowns in NFL history (92). With six games to go, Evans is primed to keep climbing the all-time leaderboard for most receiving yards through 10 seasons of a career. He needs 93 more yards to pass Larry Fitzgerald (11,367) for eighth-most, while 345 more will move him ahead of Calvin Johnson (11,619) for seventh-most. With two touchdowns last week and nine on the season, Evans is only 39 points away from passing Martin Gramatica (592) for the most points scored in Bucs history. Evans is close to extending his 1,000-yard season streak to 10 straight, as he needs 150 more over the final six games. With a big enough day against the Panthers on Sunday, he can get there. Finally, Sunday will mark Evans’ 149th game, which will move him ahead of Shelton Quarles (149) for 10th-most games played in Bucs history. From there, he needs nine more to tie Mike Alstott (158) for ninth. Chris Godwin Bucs WR Chris Godwin and Panthers S Jeremy Chinn – Photo by: USA Today Godwin is having a slow season in terms of production. But he’s still up there in terms of all-time leading receivers in Bucs history and can still make more moves to solidify his spot behind Mike Evans. With one more receiving touchdown, he’ll tie Jimmie Giles for second-most in team history (34). His next touchdown of any kind will also move him ahead of Giles (34) for fourth-most total touchdowns in franchise history. Godwin also only needs one more catch to join Evans as the only players in Bucs history to reach 500 receptions with the team. Sunday will be Godwin’s 99th game as a Buc, moving him ahead of Earnest Graham and Booger McFarland (98) for 47th-most in franchise history. He’ll now be one game away from joining a tie for 41st-most (100 games). That’s a tie that includes Mike Washington, Pete Pierson, Davin Joseph, Ron Hall, Gerald Carter and Cedric Brown. Will Gholston Sunday will be a big day for Gholston, as the longtime Buc will play his 165th game with the team. That moves him ahead of John Lynch (164) for the sixth-most games played in franchise history. Depending on Lavonte David’s status, he’ll be 11 or 12 games behind the legendary linebacker for fifth-most. If David suits up against the Panthers, Gholston will be 12 games behind him. If he doesn’t, it’ll be 11. Shaq Barrett Bucs OLB Shaquil Barrett – Photo by: USA Today Barrett is 10.5 sacks away from passing Gerald McCoy (54.5) for fourth-most in Bucs history. He only has four sacks this season and may not be doing enough to stick around for 2024. But a hot finish to the year will get him closer to McCoy, and it might just be enough to give him another season to chip away at fourth place. With one more forced fumble, Barrett will tie Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber (15) for fourth-most in team history. Yaya Diaby Diaby, now a starter opposite Barrett, is two sacks away from tying Gaines Adams (six in 2007) for third-most by a rookie in Bucs history. Lavonte David David won’t able to play against Carolina due to his groin injury, but he has a lot of milestones within reach when he returns to action. He needs 10 more tackles to make this his 10th career season with 100-plus tackles. If he reaches that mark, he’ll join London Fletcher (14 seasons) and Bobby Wagner (11) as the only active players since 2000 with double-digit 100-tackle seasons. David is also one tackle for loss away from tying himself (2014), Gerald McCoy (2014) and Jason Pierre-Paul (2018) for the Bucs’ longest streak of games with a tackle for loss since tackles for loss became an official stat in 2006. Sunday would also be David’s 177th game with Tampa Bay, leaving him six behind Paul Gruber (183) for fourth-most in franchise history. It would also be his 177th start, leaving him six behind Gruber (183) for third-most games started in team history. With 1.5 more sacks, David will pass Brad Culpepper (33.0) for eighth-most in Bucs history, while three more passes defensed will move him ahead of Donnie Abraham (64) for fifth-most of any Tampa Bay player. Carlton Davis III Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: USA Today Davis had a big day for the Bucs in their Week 12 loss to the Colts. He now needs 15 more passes defensed to pass Derrick Brooks for third-most in franchise history (84). Jamel Dean Dean is out this week due to an ankle injury, but is 11 passes defensed away from passing Aqib Talib  for seventh-most in franchise history (54). Antoine Winfield Jr. With two more forced fumbles, Winfield will tie Jermaine Phillips and Stylez G. White for ninth-most in Bucs history (10). The post Bucs Record Watch 2023: Week 13 vs. Panthers appeared first on Pewter Report.

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