The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 27-20, on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Buccaneers had an opportunity to tie or win the game at the end, getting the ball back with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter, but a strip-sack by Samson Ebukam ended that hope. One play before Ebukam forced a fumble by Baker Mayfield, running back Rachaad White took a handoff and ran over right tackle for a gain of four yards. For the Buccaneers, it was unfortunate that White didn't get another chance to touch the ball, but that four-yard run did put him at exactly 100 rushing yards on the afternoon.
That was just the second 100-yard game for White, who also had 105 yards against Seattle during his rookie year, and his average of 6.7 yards per carry set a new career high. He has now topped 100 yards from scrimmage in four games this season.
Since midseason, White has been one of the most productive backs in the NFL. He has 593 yards from scrimmage in his last six games and ranks fourth in the league among all running backs in that category since Week Seven.
Most Yards from Scrimmage, NFL Running Backs, Weeks 7-12
1. Saquon Barkley, Giants: 612
2. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers: 598
3. Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions: 595
4. Rachaad White, Buccaneers: 593
5. James Cook, Bills: 536
White now has 559 rushing yards on the season to go with 43 catches for 364 yards, giving him a total of 923 yards from scrimmage. If he adds 136 more receiving yards over the final six games of the regular season, he would become just the sixth player in Buccaneers history to record 500-plus rushing yards and 500-plus receiving yards, joining James Wilder (1984), Warrick Dunn (1999), Michael Pittman (2003), Charles Sims (2015) and Leonard Fournette (2022).
While White accounted for most of the Buccaneers' 125 rushing yards in Indianapolis, wide receiver Mike Evans fueled the passing attack with six catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns, all game highs for the visiting team. Evans' 70 yards put him at 850 on the season, meaning he needs just 150 more over the final six weeks – an average of 25 yards per game – to reach 1,000 yards for the 10th time in as many NFL seasons. Evans already owns the NFL record for most 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a player's career, and a 10th such campaign would tie him with Randy Moss for the second most ever at any point in a career. Only Jerry Rice, with 14, had more.
Evans' two scores gave him 90 touchdown receptions in his career, making him just the 15th player in NFL history to hit that mark. He moved out of a tie with Hall of Famer Don Maynard into 15th place on the all-time list and is now just one behind a tie for 14th place.
NFL's All-Time Leaders in Touchdown Receptions
15. 90: Mike Evans
13t. 91: Davante Adams^, Isaac Bruce *
12. 92: Rob Gronkowski
11. 99: Don Hutson *
9t. 100: Tim Brown, Steve Largent
* Pro Football Hall of Famer
^ Active player
Evans now just needs one more touchdown grab to hit double digits in a season for the fifth time in his career. He currently ranks second in the league in that category in 2023.
NFL 2023 Touchdown Reception Leaders
1. Tyreek Hill, Dolphins: 10
2. Mike Evans, Buccaneers: 9
3t. Stefon Diggs, Bills: 8
3t. Courtland Sutton, Broncos: 8
5t. five tied with: 7
Sunday's game marked the 19th time that Evans has caught two or more touchdown passes in a single game. That's the second highest total of such performances among all active NFL players.
Most Games with Multiple TD Receptions, Active NFL Players
| Player | Team(s) | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Davante Adams | Packers/Raiders | 22 |
| Mike Evans | Buccaneers | 19 |
| Jimmy Graham | Saints/Seahawks/Packers/Bears | 17 |
| Tyreek Hill | Chiefs/Dolphins | 14 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | Texans/Cardinals/Titans | 13 |
| Julio Jones | Falcons/Titans/Bucs/Eagles | 13 |
Evans, who also scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery during the 2018 season, is now tied for 32nd in NFL history in overall touchdowns scored, with 91. That puts him a tie with Davante Adams, Isaac Bruce, Tony Dorsett, Edgerrin James, Bobby Mitchell and Ricky Watters. Also, with his 70 yards on Sunday Evans passed former teammate DeSean Jackson for 37th place in NFL history, at 11,275 and counting. He could move up several more spots before the 2023 season is concluded
Evans needs…
…99 yards to pass Keenan McCardell for 36th place
…115 yards to pass Rod Smith for 35th place
…164 yards to pass Muhsin Muhammad for 34th place
…345 yards to pass Calvin Johnson for 33rd place
While Evans accounted for 12 of the Bucs' 20 points against the Colts, kicker Chase McLaughlin provided the other eight by making both of his field goal attempts and both of his extra point tries. He is now 19 of 21 on field goal attempts this season – both misses were blocked kicks – and has made all 19 of his PATs. Among all NFL kickers with at least 20 field goal attempts this season, McLaughlin ranks eighth with a success rate of 90.5%. His field goal percentage currently ranks second in Buccaneers history in a single season (minimum of 10 attempts).
Highest Field Goal Percentage, Single Season, Buccaneers History
| Kicker | Season | Made | att. | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Barth | 2011 | 26 | 28 | 92.9% |
| Chase McLaughlin | 2023 | 19 | 21 | 90.5% |
| Ryan Succop | 2020 | 28 | 31 | 90.3% |
| Steve Christie | 1990 | 23 | 27 | 85.2% |
| Connor Barth | 2012 | 28 | 33 | 84.8% |
Tampa Bay's defense produced two sacks, with third-year outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and rookie defensive lineman Calijah Kancey each getting Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew down once. It was the fourth sack of the season for Tryon-Shoyinka and the third for Kancey. With rookie outside linebacker Yaya Diaby also contributing four sacks so far this season, the Buccaneers join the Cardinals and the Rams as the only teams with two rookies who have three-plus sacks in 2023.
Kancey and Diaby are also among the NFL's rookie leaders in tackles for loss, and the two that Kancey collected in Week 12 put him into a tie for first in that category.
Most Tackles for Loss, NFL, Rookies
1t. Calijah Kancey, Buccaneers: 8
1t. Tuli Tuipulotu, Chargers: 8
3t. Yaya Diaby, Buccaneers: 7
3t. Brian Branch, Lions: 7
5t. Will Anderson, Texans: 6
5t. Jalen Carter, Eagles: 6
