This stat proves Mike Evans is a Hall of Famer

Being on this elite list is just one of many reasons why Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans will end up in Canton

Even at 30 years old last season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans proved he’s still one of the best in the game, putting up impressive numbers that included tying for the league lead in touchdown receptions with 13.

That number also put Evans on an elite list of legendary pass-catchers who have found the end zone as often as he has, for as many seasons as he has.

Evans has caught at least 12 touchdown passes in five of his 10 seasons in the NFL so far, making him one of just five players in NFL history to achieve that feat.

The only others on that list?

Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens.

If you’re wondering what those four have in common, it’s that they’re all members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It won’t be shocking when Evans joins them after his playing career is over.

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Ranking: Top scorers in NBA history (regular season and playoffs combined)

We present the top scorers in NBA history using their regular-season and playoff total points combined.

Though he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in regular season points on February 7, 2023, LeBron James actually became the top scorer in NBA games one year earlier if you combine regular season and playoff points.

King James just reached the historical regular season 40,000-point milestone, and he’ll keep running up the score with great advantages over the likes of Kareem, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. The closest active player,  Kevin Durant, is almost 15,000 points away from LeBron.

You can check the full ranking below:

The longest scoring droughts in NBA history

Ryan Arcidiacono, who was traded and waived this week, recently set an NBA record with a 20-game scoreless streak, a dubious honor that didn’t go unnoticed by teammates Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. We look back through NBA history to look at …

Ryan Arcidiacono, who was traded and waived this week, recently set an NBA record with a 20-game scoreless streak, a dubious honor that didn’t go unnoticed by teammates Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson.

We look back through NBA history to look at scoreless streaks almost on par with Arcidiacono’s.

Ranking: The players who have faced the most opponents in NBA history

HoopsHype ranks the Top 25 players who’ve played against the most players in NBA history.

LeBron James just became the man who has played against the most players in NBA history.

To be exact, he’s faced 1,669 opponents, which means the ‘King’ has played against 34.21 percent of all players in NBA history.

And because it’s a wild stat, we decided to make a list with the Top 25 players who’ve faced the most opponents in league history.

The worst defensive players for Tampa Bay in the Wild Card, per PFF

PFF’s lowest-graded Bucs defensive players from the team’s Wild Card win included two safeties and two edge rushers.

There shouldn’t be too much to complain about when a team holds another team to nine points in the playoffs. But to some, things were not all perfect with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.

Pro Football Focus took to grading every Bucs defensive player in the team’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles for the Wild Card Round, and their grades were interesting. On top of the highest-rated players, we’re taking a look at the lowest-rated players, and it’s made up of safeties and edge rushers despite some good coverage and furious blitzes throughout the night.

Here are PFF’s five lowest-rated defensive players for Tampa Bay in their Wild Card win:

The worst offensive players for Tampa Bay in the Wild Card, per PFF

The interior offensive line of the Bucs particularly struggled against the Eagles in the eyes of Pro Football Focus.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers readily handled the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round on Monday, but not everyone executed at a high level.

The offense put up 32 points, and while most of that offense performed well, there were still a few little qualms. Pro Football Focus did their weekly grades for the first round of the playoffs, and they had a particular issue with the interior defensive line — the Eagles are tough there, and the Bucs had a bit of trouble defending that interior throughout the night.

Here are the five lowest-graded Bucs offensive players in their game against the Eagles, per PFF:

The top offensive players for Tampa Bay in the Wild Card, per PFF

Bucs pass catchers feasted against Philadelphia’s woeful secondary in the two teams’ wild card matchup.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stifled the Philadelphia Eagles defensively, but when it came to the offensive side of the ball, they also put up the points.

The Bucs drubbed the Eagles 32-9 on Monday in the Wild Card round, getting a big win and shifting their focus to the Divisional. Tampa Bay’s offense fired, as not only did quarterback Baker Mayfield bake, Tampa Bay’s pass catchers feasted on Philadelphia’s secondary. Pro Football Focus released their recent grades for the game, and they were particularly impressed with the wideouts and tight ends in Tampa Bay.

Here are the 10 highest-graded Bucs offensive players from the Wild Card round, per PFF:

The top defensive players for Tampa Bay in the Wild Card, per PFF

Players from all positions groups got props by PFF for their stifling performance against the Eagles.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs — they put the clamps on them the entire night.

The Eagles only scored nine points in their game against the Bucs, going 0-for-9 on third down and not converting on fourth down, either. Tampa Bay came into the game with a stifling gameplan, rushing six at the line and aggressively blitzing to put pressure on quarterback Jalen Hurts. It paid dividends, and not only did the defensive line feast, but the secondary benefitted.

Pro Football Focus thought highly of every position group in their weekly grades. See who they had as the 10 highest-graded defensive players for the game:

How the Bucs finished 2023 in advanced metrics

Here’s what the Bucs looked like after a dive into some deeper metrics for the 2023 season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had an up-and-down season on a number of fronts, and their advanced metrics seem to reflect that.

We’ve already taken a look at how the Bucs stacked up statistically for 2023, but we figured to go a bit deeper and look at some advanced analytics. We took a look at a number of advanced metrics from rbsdm.com, and the finds vary between expected and intriguing.

The offense for Tampa Bay is ranked 12th in EPA per play, or Expected Points Added, at 0.008. This is somewhat impressive given the disparity of the team’s offensive attack — the Bucs have a pretty decent dropback EPA of 0.110 but a dreadful rushing attack at -0.166, good for the fourth worst in the league. Their rush success rate, defined by the percentage of yards for a specific set of downs, is also an incredibly low 32%.

The Bucs’ defense doesn’t fare as well, ranking 18th in the league in EPA per play with -0.018. While the Bucs have among the worst statistical passing defenses in the league with yards allowed, they actually do decently well in that area with dropback EPA, coming in at 0.065 — far better than some other teams. Tampa Bay’s EPA is also likely influenced by how well it’s able to keep some teams out of the red zone, as the Bucs rank ninth statically in points allowed.

Finally, we’ll take a look a quarterback Baker Mayfield. If you combine Mayfield’s EPA per play with his completions above expected (a metric to measure a quarterback completing difficult throws), he ranks 12th in the NFL. This is a testament to his EPA per play of 0.137 — that’s one of the best in the league, but he’s dragged down by his CPOE of 0.2, meaning he doesn’t usually complete difficult throws.

All in all, the numbers here don’t indicate that the Bucs will go particularly far in the playoffs. The game isn’t played on paper, though, and Tampa Bay will have a good first shot at advancing when they play the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night at 8 p.m.

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The worst defensive players for Tampa Bay in 2023, per PFF

These five players on the defensive side of the ball didn’t grade well for PFF across the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played some good defense in 2023, but they’ve also had plenty of regrettable moments across the course of the year.

The team is strong in run defense and stalwart in the red zone, but their passing defense remains one of the worst in the NFL. Some of the team’s notable mainstays like Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield Jr. have performed well this year, but others — including some newer additions to the team — have struggled. Pro Football Focus seemed to reflect this in their end-of-year grades for the team.

Here are the five lowest-graded defensive players on defense for the Bucs in 2023: