Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs' Scoring Binge Unprecedented

Stat Shots: While it won't do anything to lessen the sting of a difficult loss in the desert, the Bucs' second-half scoring spree on Sunday was remarkable in many ways

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Arizona Cardinals by five points on Sunday, the second straight week that they had come up short by that exact margin. However, while their 19-14 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots in Week Five was a typical dogfight that came down to the wire, the game in Arizona was unlike any in team history.

The Buccaneers scored 33 of the game's final 40 points but still lost, 38-33. That's because they found themselves down, 31-0, early in the second half. The rally that followed was a furious one, but in the end that initial deficit was too much to overcome. As Head Coach Dirk Koetter said after the game, the first two quarters constituted "the worst first half of football I have ever seen in my life," and the opening minutes of the second half weren't much better.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Buccaneers' Week 6 matchup with the Cardinals.

"The story is you can't spot a NFL team 31 points and think you're going to come back," said Koetter, who also gave the appropriate credit to a Cardinals team that came out firing on all cylinders. "You can't spot a NFL team any points. Like I said, it's disappointing and it's embarrassing and it starts with me."

In essence, there will be no silver linings or good feelings after this one, though the team will strive as always to follow Koetter's "24-hour rule" and move on quickly to preparing for a Week Seven game in Buffalo. Still, from a statistical standpoint there were some remarkable occurrences on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium, including at least one that had never before happened in 42 seasons of Buccaneer football. Let's take a look at some of those.

Most notably, the 27 points the Buccaneers scored in the fourth quarter marked the single-most prolific period in franchise history. It was only the third time the team had scored more than 21 points in any given quarter.

Highest Scoring Quarters, Buccaneers History

**Opponent****Date****Quarter****Points****Outcome**
Arizona10/15/174th27L, 38-33
Chicago12/22/962nd24W, 34-19
Green Bay11/22/812nd24W, 37-3
21 others21

The Buccaneers' 27 points in the final period are the most any NFL team has scored in a fourth quarter in four seasons. The last team to put up at least that many in the fourth was Philadelphia, which tallied 28 points in the final period on Dec. 8, 2013 to beat Detroit, 34-20. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay is also the first team to accomplish that fourth-quarter feat in a loss in over a decade. The New York Giants scored 27 points in the fourth quarter against Seattle on Sept. 24, 2006 but still fell, 42-30.

The Buccaneers' 27-point fourth period is the highest scoring quarter by any team in the NFL this season. The 33 points the team tallied in the second half is the second-most post-halftime points any team has scored this year; Seattle notched 36 second-half points in a 46-18 win over Indianapolis on Oct. 1. Those 33 points after halftime marked the team's second-highest total in any game half in franchise history. The record is 35, which the team put up on Nov. 4, 2012 in a 42-32 victory at Oakland.

Five different players scored touchdowns for the Bucs on Sunday. DeSean Jackson, Cameron Brate and Mike Evans all hauled in touchdown receptions, Doug Martin found the end zone on a one-yard run and Lavonte David pitched in on defense with a 21-yard fumble return for a score. That's the first time since Nov. 22, 2015 that five different Bucs found the end zone in a single game; six did so in that 45-17 win at Philadelphia (Evans, Brate, David, Vincent Jackson, Russell Shepard and Charles Sims).

Brate's touchdown gave him a team-high four on the season, which he has tallied by scoring once in each of the last four games. b If Brate scores in Buffalo, he'll break the record for all Buccaneer players, regardless of position.

Most Consecutive Games with a Touchdown Reception, Buccaneers History

**Player****Pos.****Streak****Dates**
Cameron BrateTE4Sept. 24 - Oct. 15, 2017
Mike EvansWR4Nov. 2-23, 2014
Mike WilliamsWR4Dec. 19, 2010 - Sept. 11, 2011
Antonio BryantWR4Nov. 30 - Dec. 21, 2008
Joey GallowayWR4Oct. 16 - Nov. 13, 2005
Joey GallowayWR4Dec. 5-26, 2004
Bruce HillWR4Oct. 16 - Nov. 6, 1988

Brate is the only player in the NFL who has an active streak of four consecutive games with at least one receiving touchdown. New England wide receiver Chris Hogan also had a four-game streak that ended on Oct. 5. Brate's streak is the longest for any tight end in the NFL since Jacksonville's Julius Thomas had touchdown catches in four straight games from Nov. 19 to Dec. 13, 2015. If Brate scores in Buffalo, he'll match the longest such streak by an NFL tight end in the last five seasons.

Most Consecutive Games with a TD Reception, NFL Tight Ends, 2013-17

**Player****Team****Streak****Dates**
Rob GronkowskiNE5Dec. 7 2014 - Sept. 20, 2015
Julius ThomasDEN5Sept. 7 - Oct. 12, 2014
Vernon DavisSF5Nov. 17 - Dec. 15, 2013
Cameron BrateTB4Sept. 24 - Oct. 15, 2017
Julius ThomasJAX4Nov. 19 - Dec. 13, 2015
Gary BarnidgeCLE4Sept. 27 - Oct. 18, 2015
Antonio GatesSD4Oct. 5-23, 2014
Tony GonzalezATL4Dec. 1-23, 2013
Marcedes LewisJAX4Dec. 1-22, 2013
Rob GronkowskiNE4Nov. 3 - Dec. 1, 2013
Jimmy GrahamNO4Sept. 8-30, 2013

Brate tied for the NFL lead in touchdown catches among tight ends last year, equaling the eight tallied by San Diego's Hunter Henry. As the Buccaneer tight end has continued to pile on the touchdowns this year, he's taken himself beyond his position and into a group of the league's top scorers, period. Since the start of 2016, Brate has the seventh-most touchdown receptions among all NFL players.

Most Touchdown Receptions, NFL, 2016-17

**Player****Team****Pos.****TD Recs.**
1. Jordy NelsonGBWR20
2. Davante AdamsGBWR17
3. Mike EvansTBWR15
4. Antonio BrownPITWR14
5t. Odell BeckhamNYGWR13
5t. Michael CrabtreeOAKWR13
7. Cameron BrateTBTE12
8t. Dez BryantDALWR11
8t. Kenny StillsMIAWR11
8t. Michael ThomasNOWR11

Evans, of course, is also in that top 10 after he grabbed his third touchdown pass of the season on Sunday and his 15th since the beginning of the 2016 campaign. Obviously, that makes Brate and Evans one of the most prolific pairs of teammates in the league in terms of catching TD tosses.

Most Touchdown Receptions, Two Teammates, NFL, 2016-17

**Team****Player #1****Rec. TDs.****Player #2****Rec. TDs****Total**
GBJordy Nelson20Davante Adams1737
TBMike Evans15Cameron Brate1227
NYGOdell Beckham13Sterling Shepard922
NOMichael Thomas11Brandin Cooks *819
DALDez Bryant11Cole Beasley718

( Cooks is now with New England, but his TD total in 2016 alone still helps him and Thomas make this list.)

In last week's edition of "Data Crunch," we noted that both Brate and wide receiver Adam Humphries were on the verge of hauling in their respective 100th career receptions. That's a notable shared achievement for two players who arrived in Tampa as undrafted free agents. As last Friday's article noted, Brate and Humphries are among the most prolific undrafted pass-catchers in Buccaneer history and also rank high among their contemporaries in recent seasons.

Both players did manage to hit triple digits in their careers on Sunday in Arizona, as they happened to tie for the Buccaneers' team lead with six receptions each. That left Humphries at 105 and Brate at 102. Here are the charts from last week's article comparing those two to former Buccaneers and current undrafted players around the NFL, updated to reflect the action this past weekend.

*Most Receptions, Undrafted Players, Buccaneers History

**Player****Seasons****Pos.****GP****Recs.****Yards****TDs**
Karl Williams1996-2003WR1151371,7007
Earnest Graham2004-11RB981299041
Calvin Magee1985-88TE561141,37911
Adam Humphries2015-17WR321051,1403
Cameron Brate2014-17TE381021,24615

Most Receptions First Three Seasons, Undrafted Players, Buccaneers History

**Player****Seasons****Pos.****GP****Recs.****Yards****TDs**
Calvin Magee1985-87TE431051,27611
Adam Humphries2015-17WR321051,1403
Cameron Brate2014-16TE348196511
Karl Williams1996-2003WR45769845
Tim Wright2013TE16545715

Most Touchdowns, Undrafted Players, Buccaneers History

**Player****Seasons****Pos.****GP****TDs**
Earnest Graham2004-11RB9816
Cameron Brate2014-17TE3815
LeGarrette Blount2010-12RB4013
Karl Williams1996-2003WR11512
Calvin Magee1985-88TE5611

Most Receptions, 2015 Undrafted Players, NFL, 2015-17

**Player****Team(s)****Pos.****GP****Recs.****Yards****TDs**
Adam HumphriesTBWR321051,1403
Will TyeNYG/NYJTE32948974
Tyrell WilliamsLACWR26911,4369
Cameron MeredithCHIWR25771,0084
Eli RogersPITWR17546483

Most Career Receptions, NFL Rookie Class of 2015

**Player****Team****Pos.****Draft Round (Overall)****Recs.****Yards****TDs**
Amari CooperOAKWR1 (4)1732,36912
Stefon DiggsMINWR5 (146)1592,01811
Jamison CrowderWASWR4 (105)1431,5729
Duke JohnsonCLERB3 (77)1401,3173
David JohnsonAZRB3 (86)1221,4038
Tyler LockettSEAWR3 (69)1081,4567
Adam HumphriesTBWRUndrafted1051,1403
DeVante ParkerMIAWR1 (14)1011,4748

Unlike his rising-star teammates, Mike Evans was not an undrafted free agent. Rather, the Buccaneers nabbed him seventh overall in 2014 and he has proved to be one of the most astute draft selections in franchise history. Not even halfway through his fourth season, Evans has already placed himself among the team's all-time performers in a variety of receiving categories. With his 95 yards in Arizona, for instance, Evans passed Joey Galloway for fifth place in Buc history in career receiving yards.

Most Career Receiving Yards, Buccaneers History

**Player****Pos.****Seasons****Recs.****Yards****TDs**
Mark CarrierWR1987-923215,01827
Kevin HouseWR1980-862864,92831
Vincent JacksonWR2012-162684,32620
Jimmie GilesTE1978-862794,30034
Mike EvansWR2014-172653,94930

Perhaps most remarkably, Evans has needed only 51 games and 50 starts to become just the fifth player in franchise history to hit the 30-touchdown mark. He already stands third all-time in touchdown receptions in Buc annals and needs five more to become the all-time leader.

Most Career Touchdowns Scored, Buccaneers History

**Player****Pos.****Seasons****GP****TDr****TDp****Total**
Mike AlstottFB1996-2007158581371
James WilderRB1981-8911337946
Jimmie GilesTE1978-8612134034
Kevin HouseWR1980-869431031
Mike EvansWR2014-175130030

The touchdown passes caught by Evans, Brate and Jackson on Sunday in Arizona all came on throws from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who entered the game after Jameis Winston left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Fitzpatrick had thrown a single incomplete pass during the Buccaneers' season-opening win over Chicago, but this was his first extended regular-season playing time in Tampa. Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 32 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, compiling a passer rating of 102.3. That marked the 17th time in his career he's thrown three TD passes in a game, and the 28th time he's finished a contest with a passer rating of 100 or better.

Fitzpatrick is in his 13th NFL season, during which he has played for seven different franchises. He has now thrown a touchdown pass for all of those franchises and has become just the fourth player in NFL history to throw a TD pass with seven different teams. Coincidentally, three of those four passers have played for the Buccaneers.

**Quarterback****Seasons****Teams***
Chris Chandler1988-2004IND, **TB**, AZ, LAR, HOU, ATL, CHI
Ryan Fitzpatrick2005-17STL, CIN, BUF, TEN, HOU, NYJ, **TB**
Gus Frerotte1994-2008WAS, DET, DEN, CIN, MIN, MIA, STL
Vinny Testaverde1987-2007**TB**, CLE, BAL, NYJ, DAL, NE, CAR

( Team abbreviations indicate the franchise as it is currently known. Testaverde only makes the list of seven different teams if one considers the pre-1995 Cleveland Browns and the expansion 1996 Baltimore Ravens as two different franchises.)*

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising