Tom Brady went into Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Chicago Bears just two touchdown passes away from 600. And sure, Brady might have already been atop the all-time touchdown list, but 600 is a nice, round number to get excited about. No quarterback had ever reached 600 touchdown passes in his career before, so that milestone was going to mean something.
And then … Mike Evans just gave the football away like it was nothing.
During the first quarter, Brady connected with Evans for a nine-yard touchdown — his second TD pass of the game and 600th of his career. As Brady made his way to the end zone to celebrate with Evans, we can see the Bucs receiver enter the frame late. That was because he gave the football to a fan in the stands.
Brady hits Mike Evans for his 600th career passing TD 🐐
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/W7AmajYOYm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 24, 2021
Oh no!
The best part was that Evans realized his mistake when he was on the bench, and cameras captured him react in real time as he realized, “Ohhhh, I gave the ball away!”
Mike Evans realizing he gave away Tom Brady’s 600th TD ball is the best part of this game. pic.twitter.com/ON8rHRo0lT
— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 24, 2021
That reaction made it worth it. The Bucs would send a team staffer to the end zone stands where an exchange was made. So, no, the 600th touchdown ball wasn’t lost.