A historic day for Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans ended abruptly near the end of the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bucs later announced Evans would not return after suffering a knee injury. Tampa went on to topple the Falcons, 44-27, to secure the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Despite how potentially serious the injury initially looked, Bucs coach Bruce Arians offered a glimmer of hope after the game regarding Evans' condition.
"Knock on wood, we don't think there's any serious damage. We'll know more in the next 24 hours," Arians said, .
Shortly after becoming the first player in СÀ¶ÊÓƵhistory with 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons, Evans injured his left knee after his leg appeared to get stuck in the turf while trying to catch a pass from Tom Brady in the end zone.
On the play prior to the injury, Evans hauled in a 20-yard reception that gave him the record and brought Tampa Bay inside the red zone. After two more incompletions, a 29-yard Ryan Succop field goal concluded the drive and put the Bucs up 10-3.
Evans exited the contest with three receptions (four targets) for 46 yards.
