Wide receiver Mike Evans notched two second-half touchdowns to lead visiting Tampa Bay’s 40-17 rout over the offensively inept Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The often-injured Evans caught scoring passes of 57 and 35 yards as the Buccaneers outscored the Chargers 27-0 in the second half.
Tampa Bay (8-6) remained atop the NFC South with second-place Atlanta (6-7) set to play at Las Vegas on Monday. The back-sliding Falcons swept the Buccaneers this season, however, and hold the first tie-breaker.
Tampa Bay won its fourth consecutive game.
The Chargers fell to 8-6 but held the sixth wild-card spot in the AFC. They face seventh-seeded Denver on Thursday.
Evans finished with 159 yards on nine catches. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield went 22-for-27 passing for 288 yards and four touchdowns.
The punchless LA offense lost one of its calling cards in the second half, too. Quarterback Justin Herbert’s streak of 357 consecutive passes without an interception ended in the third quarter as he battled a lingering ankle injury and withering pressure. Herbert, who hadn’t been intercepted since Week 2 against Carolina, fell one short of tying Tom Brady for fourth on the all-time list of most starts without a pick.
Herbert finished 21-for-33 for 195 yards and two touchdowns as LA was outgained 506-206.
Los Angeles led 17-13 at halftime after scoring on its first three drives. The Chargers jumped in front for the first time, 17-10, with 7:12 left until the break when Herbert tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnson.
The four-play scoring drive was set up at the Tampa Bay 27 when Tarheeb Still intercepted Mayfield, who has six turnovers in his last two games.
Turnovers buoyed the Chargers greatly in the half, as the offense managed just 142 yards.
Tampa Bay had taken a 10-7 lead just seconds into the second quarter. Rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who scored twice in a win over Las Vegas last week, exploited a busted coverage for a 26-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield less than four minutes into the game.
Chase McLaughlin went 4-for-4 on field goal tries. Rachaad White also had a receiving touchdown for the Buccaneers.
–Field Level Media
