Buccaneers record book watch: Week Three

The Buccaneers, to the surprise of many, are 2-0 to start the season after picking up wins against the Saints and Eagles. They return to the field on Monday night for a primetime matchup against the Steelers. Here’s where things stand in the franchise record book heading into week three:

Career Receiving Yards

Mike Evans is inching closer and closer to being No. 2 in receiving yards. With 83 yards against the Eagles on Sunday, he now has 4,809 yards. He needs 120 more to pass Kevin House (4,928) for that second spot.

Career Receiving Touchdowns

With his touchdown against Philadelphia, Evans is now tied with Jimmie Giles for most receiving scores all-time (34). If he finds the end zone against Pittsburgh on Monday, he will own the franchise record very early in his fifth season.

Career Receptions

With 10 catches on Sunday, Evans passed Mark Carrier for second all-time. He now sits at 326, which is 104 behind James Wilder (430) for the top spot.

Rushing Touchdowns

The Bucs are still without a rushing touchdown this season, so Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers haven’t moved up at all. Barber is still tied for 25th in franchise history with four rushing scores, while Rodgers is close behind at 29th (three). With two on Monday, Barber would pull into a tie for 16th.

Career Tackles

With six tackles last week, Lavonte David now has 559 in his career. He is slowly working his way toward third on that list, a spot currently held by Hardy Nickerson (680). For David, it’s all about the week-to-week progress in this category.

Kwon Alexander’s six tackles against Philly moved him from 18th to 16th. He currently has 248, which means he needs six more to pass Martin Mayhew (253) for 15th.

With his two tackles on Sunday, Gerald McCoy pulled into a tie for 24th with Brad Culpepper (204). He needs three more to pass Simeon Rice for 23rd.

Career Sacks

McCoy picked up his first sack of the season on Sunday, which brought his career total up to 49 1/2. He is now 20 behind Simeon Rice for the franchise’s second spot.

Career Safeties

Lavonte David is in a first-place tie for career safeties with one.

Career Interceptions

David is tied for 17th in career interceptions with 10. One more pulls him into a 15th-place tie with Jermaine Phillips and Jeremiah Castille, while two more brings him up to a 12th-place tie with Dwight Smith, Jeris White and Mark Robinson.

Career Passes Defended

With one pass breakup last week, David tied Brent Grimes for fifth in franchise history with 35. Both guys are 18 away from passing Aqib Talib for fourth. With Grimes on his way back from injury, he could be getting some separation from David.

Career Fumble Recoveries

In past versions of the record book watch, it was said that David needed one fumble recovery to tie for fifth all-time. While that is somewhat correct, it was still an oversight. That listing included players on both offense and defense, meaning the top four spots were occupied by three quarterbacks and a running back. Admittedly, that makes no sense.

So... As far as defensive players are concerned, David is now tied with Ronde Barber for most fumble recoveries (12) after falling on the ball at the end of Sunday’s win against the Eagles. He needs one more to hold the franchise record.

Career Forced Fumbles

David is two forced fumbles away from a second-place tie with Simeon Rice.

Career Games Played

Monday will be McCoy’s 112th career game with the Bucs, which ties him with Donald Penn for 22nd.

Demar Dotson is about to play his 103rd game with Tampa Bay, which will get him one game away from tying Hardy Nickerson (104) for 31st.

David is set for his 94th game, which ties him for 46th with Kevin House.