Week 17 on the NFL schedule is almost in the books (we still have Monday Night Football) and the best performances deserve to be recognized by our MMQB staff. Even if you’re feeling down because your team didn’t win, maybe one of your favorite players or coaches gets awarded a game ball by our staff.
Here are this weekend’s standouts:
Mitch Goldich: Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers. It’s been a strangely difficult season for Evans, who developed such a great rapport with Tom Brady during their first two seasons together. This year, they were more likely to be seen sharing terse words with each other after a play than celebrating in the end zone. But with a chance to clinch the NFC South, Evans might have made up for an entire season’s worth of frustration, spending a pleasant afternoon just streaking toward the end zone with the ball in his hands. He scored on touchdowns of 63, 57 and 30 yards, finishing the day with 10 catches for 207 yards and those three TDs. He also extended his NFL-record streak to nine consecutive seasons over 1,000 receiving yards to begin a career, as the Bucs came back from two scores down in the fourth quarter to beat the Panthers 30–24 and guarantee a home playoff game.
