NFC Notes: Mike Evans, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Rams

Buccaneers

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans is just 85 yards away from achieving his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season, which would place him alongside Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice as the only other player to do so. Tampa Bay HC Todd Bowles would like Evans to accomplish the feat but wants to win Week 18’s season finale first and foremost. 

“Winning is the most important thing, so there’s no balance there,” said Bowles, via Scott Smith of the team’s site. “We’re going to win any way we can try to win. We’d like to get him that in the process, but we’re trying to win the game.”

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield thinks getting Evans involved “early and often” has been a big part of their success. 

“To get him to that – obviously, winning is the most important part but those two things go hand in hand,” said Mayfield. “Mike is a huge part of this offense and a huge part of this passing game and so getting him involved early and often is a lot of the reason we’ve had success. Those things go hand in hand. There’s balance and the most important thing is winning but I see it playing out – if we win, Mike is getting the record.”

Mayfield added Evans achieving 1,000 yards is “important for us” given the receiver’s impact on the organization. 

“Let’s put things in perspective,” Mayfield said. “You’re talking about tying somebody that has all receiving records across the NFL throughout history. You’re talking about somebody [in Evans] that’s consistently been somebody in this community that has raised people up, continued to be the face of this franchise and be there for people, so that record is important for us.”

Cardinals

• Cardinals S Budda Baker earned a $500,000 incentive for being elected to the Pro Bowl, per Joel Corry. 

Rams

Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the chance to start Week 18 against the Seahawks. He’s excited to get some reps in Sunday’s finale.

“I kind of had a feeling as I was watching the games this past Sunday, but it’s exciting,” Garoppolo said, via PFT. “It’s about time, just get out there with the guys and get some real football in.”

Garoppolo has been impressed by how HC Sean McVay has established a “very tight-run outfit” that is focused on all of the little details of his system. 

“It’s impressive, honestly. It’s a very tight-run outfit, just how they do everything,” Garoppolo said. “Little details aren’t overlooked. That’s something that I really was impressed by early on and it’s carried out this whole season. I think that’s how you get to a place like this though, when you’re allotted this in the last week of the season to play some other guys and it’s good for us. Sean does a really good job of explaining it in detail, too. He’ll take the time to slow things down. If you don’t understand it, he’ll explain it to you in a way that you do which as a teacher, that’s really impressive. I haven’t had many coaches that do that. To take the time to do little things like that, I’m really grateful for. It’s just a lot of good people, man. That’s what makes this thing go, is a lot of good people in the right positions.”

Garoppolo is approaching Sunday’s game as a chance to build his resume. 

“Anytime you get on the grass in live action, that’s your resume. That’s the life we live,” Garoppolo said. “It’s just what you do out there, everyone sees it around the league. They’re going to break that tape down, good, bad, or indifferent. They don’t really care who’s playing, what week it is or whatever it is. That’s your resume. That’s how I’ve always approached it. It’ll be no different this week.”