After a 38-10 beatdown of the Packers last week, the Buccaneers are riding high heading into Week 7’s trip to Las Vegas for their matchup against the Raiders.
Tampa Bay’s ugly performance in Week 6 against Chicago may have had hopes low for some prior to last Sunday’s game against Green Bay. However, the team overcame a 10-0 deficit and scored the final 38 points in what turned out to be a dominant performance at Raymond James Stadium. At 4-2, the Bucs are a half-game ahead of the Saints for first place in the NFC South, and despite Sunday’s game against Vegas getting bumped to a 4:05 p.m. start time rather than the initial Sunday Night Football slot, it’s still a big one for Bruce Arians and his team. Winning this game and then taking down a beatable Giants team next week would have the Bucs at 6-2 heading into their second meeting with the Saints on Nov. 8.
While the team’s focus on Sunday will be on emerging victorious for the second straight week, there are also some Tampa Bay players looking to get closer to history. Let’s see where things stand heading into Week 7.
Buccaneers History
**All statistics and records come from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.**
Career Rushing Yards
With 113 rushing yards last week against the Packers, Ronald Jones II now has 1,240 in his career. That’s good enough for 14th in Bucs history, and he needs 606 more to pass Jerry Eckwood (1,845) for 13th.
Career Rushing Touchdowns
After finding the end zone on the ground twice last week, Jones now has 10 rushing scores in his career. That ties him with Michael Pittman and Jameis Winston for 14th-most in Bucs history. With three more, he ties LeGarrette Blount and Doug Williams (13) for 12th.
Consecutive 100-Yard Rushing Games
Jones has rushed for 100-plus yards in three straight games, becoming just the fourth running back in team history to do so. He joined Doug Martin (2015), Cadillac Williams (2005) and James Wilder (1984-85), which is great company as far as Bucs running backs go. If he surpasses 100 yards against the Raiders, Jones will have four consecutive 100-yard games, leaving him two away from tying the team record of six, which is held by Wilder (Bucs Communications).
Career Receiving Yards
Chris Godwin has 2,891 receiving yards in his career, ranking him 13th in franchise history. He needs 46 more yards to pass Michael Clayton (2,936) for 12th, 52 more to pass Bruce Hill (2,942) for 11th and 57 more to pass Mike Williams (2,947) for 10th.
Cameron Brate has 2,206 receiving yards in his career, leaving him 12 yards away from passing Jacquez Green (2,217) for 22nd in Bucs history.
Career Receiving Touchdowns
With 28 touchdown catches in his career, Brate is tied with Joey Galloway for fourth-most in team history. He needs three more to tie Kevin House (31) for third.
Godwin’s 18 receiving scores have him two away from tying Vincent Jackson (20) for 10th in Bucs history.
Career Receptions
With 202 catches in his career, Brate is four away from tying Courtney Hawkins and Lawrence Dawsey (206) for 18th in franchise history.
Godwin has 195 catches as a Buc, which means he needs just seven more to tie Brate for 20th.
Career Touchdowns (Total)
Mike Evans has 55 total touchdowns in his career, which is good enough for second in Bucs history. He needs 17 more to take the franchise record from Mike Alstott (71).
Career Sacks*
With 1.5 sacks last week, Jason Pierre-Paul brought his Bucs total to 26.5, tying him with Broderick Thomas for ninth-most in team history. He now needs 1.5 more to tie Ronde Barber (28) for eighth.
Lavonte David’s 1.5 sacks against the Packers brought his career total to 24. He is now two away from tying Greg Spires (26) for 11th-most in Bucs history, while 2.5 more will tie him with Thomas and Pierre-Paul for ninth.
Shaquil Barrett has 22.5 sacks with the Bucs, leaving him 3.5 away from tying Spires for 11th and four away from tying Thomas and Pierre-Paul for ninth. (Bucs Communications)
*Sacks did not become an official stat until 1982.
Sacks Through 27 Games With Tampa Bay
Lee Roy Selmon and Simeon Rice share the record for sacks through 27 games with the Bucs (24). Barrett has 22.5 through 22 games, which means he needs two more in the next five games to take the record for himself. (Bucs Communications)
Career Passes Defended*
David’s 48 passes defended are good enough for sixth in team history. He needs seven more to pass Aqib Talib (54) for fifth.
*Passes defended did not become an official stat until 1999.
Career Forced Fumbles
With 22 forced fumbles in his career, David ranks second in franchise history. He only needs two more to tie Derrick Brooks (24) for the team record.
Career Starts
Sunday will be David’s 128th career start, which will have him two away from tying Warren Sapp (130) for seventh-most in Buccaneer history. (Bucs Communications)
Career Games Played
Sunday will also be David’s 128th career game played, which will bring him two behind Brian Kelly and Demar Dotson (130) for 11th-most in team history.
NFL History
**Courtesy of Buccaneers Communications**
Touchdown Connections (Regular Season)
When they linked up for a touchdown last week against the Packers, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski tied Dan Marino and Mark Clayton for the fourth-most regular season touchdown connections in NFL history (79). One more would give the duo sole possession of that fourth-place spot.
Passing Touchdowns (Regular Season)
Brady has thrown 555 regular season touchdowns in his career, which is good for second-most in league history. He is one behind Drew Brees (556)—who is obviously still active—for the all-time record.
Receiving Yards by a Tight End (Regular Season)
Gronkowski has 8,079 regular season receiving yards in his career, leaving him eight away from passing Jimmy Graham (8,086 and still active) for sixth-most in NFL history.
Receiving Touchdowns (Regular Season)
With 80 career regular season touchdown receptions, Gronkowski is one away from tying Art Powell and Steve Smith (81) for 25th in league history. Two more will tie him with Reggie Wayne and Anquan Boldin (82) for 23rd.
Receiving Touchdowns (Including Postseason)
Including the playoffs, Gronkowski has 92 receiving touchdowns in his career. He needs three more to tie Isaac Bruce and Hines Ward (95) for 13th-most all-time.
Consecutive Games Allowing Under 100 Rushing Yards
Dating back to last year, the Bucs have held their opponents under 100 yards in 12 straight games. If they can get to 13 on Sunday, they’ll tie the third-longest streak since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. The 2006 Vikings put up a streak of 13 straight.