According to Mike Evans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers on the third play from scrimmage.
Bucs quarterback Tom Brady launched a perfect deep ball to a wide-open Evans, who was streaking across the field all by himself, after his defender had fallen to the ground.
The ball bounced off Evans’ hands and fell helplessly to the ground, turning a would-be 64-yard touchdown into a soul-crushing incomplete pass.
Tampa Bay didn’t score a touchdown the entire game Sunday, managing just a late field goal in a 21-3 defeat.
After the game, Evans admitted that while a single play isn’t the sole reason they lost Sunday, he thinks it was the biggest one (via The Athletic’s Greg Auman):
Video: Mike Evans says no one play is responsible for a loss, but he knows how big his drop was on the opening drive. “I saw the life go out of us.” pic.twitter.com/RvprGnGqFo
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 23, 2022
This is definitely one the future Hall of Famer is gonna want back:
Mike Evans doesn't drop many of these 😬pic.twitter.com/8e4J0I25kS
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 23, 2022
Evans finished the game with 96 yards on nine receptions, but the one that got away will haunt him for a while.
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