The Tampa Bay Buccaneers extended their winning-streak to four yesterday with a 38-17 win over the Detroit Lions. The Bucs are back at .500 and will play their final two games at home, a far cry from the five-game stretch they had to endure earlier in the year, in which they went just 1-4. But, Tampa Bay is 5-1 over their last six games and have a chance to finish with their first winning record since 2016.
Yesterday’s victory came at a cost, however, as wide receiver Chris Godwin left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. This comes just one week after Mike Evans suffered a hamstring injury that’ll sideline him for the rest of the year.
If it is the end of Godwin’s season, as some have speculated, he’ll finish the year with 86 receptions for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns — career highs in all three categories. Not many people could’ve predicted such a big jump in Year 3 for Godwin, except maybe Bruce Arians, who said back in March at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix that Godwin would be close to a 100-catch guy this season.
“I think Chris Godwin is going to be close to a 100-catch guy, especially because I think he can play in the slot. He’s never coming off the field.”
The best part of this article is that Kevin Patra of NFL.com had this to say after Arians’ quote.
“Sidebar: This is the same coach that once boasted during one of these March meetings back in 2014 that running back Andre Ellington could handle 30 touches per game, so we should take that 100-catch number with a massive salt pill.”
In Patra’s defense, he did say Godwin could make a big leap playing in Arians’ offense.
Had Godwin been healthy for the final two games, he could’ve easily approached that 100-catch mark. Still, it was a breakout season for the former Penn State receiver, and definitely a sign of things to come.
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