The Buccaneers will wrap up their 2020 regular season schedule on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, hosting the Atlanta Falcons in one final tuneup before the franchise’s first playoff game since 2007.
When Tampa Bay takes the field on Sunday, there will be plenty on team’s collective mind. A win would mean locking up the NFC’s No. 5 seed, although a Rams loss to the Cardinals would work as well. There’s no doubt that Bruce Arians and his team will want to take care of their own business so that they don’t have to rely on Arizona, but the No. 1 priority on Sunday has to be health.
The Bucs are banged-up injury-wise, plus they have been hit by COVID-19 issues this week. Carlton Davis is doubtful for Week 17 with a groin injury, while Ronald Jones II sounds good to go but will be looking to get through the game intact as he plays through a fractured finger. COVID-wise, news broke Friday that Shaquil Barrett, Devin White and Steve McLendon have all landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. They’ll all be out for the contest against Atlanta. So, health and safety are the keys on Sunday and all throughout next week for the Bucs as they prepare for the NFC Wild Card Round.
Playoffs and health aside, there is also history at stake for plenty of Buccaneers. With that in mind, let’s see where things stand heading into the regular season finale.
Buccaneers History
**All statistics and records come from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.**
Career Rushing Yards
Ronald Jones II has 1,668 rushing yards in his career, which has him 14th in Bucs history. He needs 178 more to pass Jerry Eckwood (1,845) for 13th.
Career Rushing Touchdowns
With 13 career rushing touchdowns, Ronald Jones II is tied with LeGarrette Blount and Doug Williams for 12th-most in franchise history. He needs two more to tie Lars Tate, Earnest Graham and Peyton Barber for ninth.
Career Receiving Yards
Chris Godwin is up to 3,407 receiving yards in his career, placing him 10th in Bucs history. He needs just 37 more yards to pass Gerald Carter (3,443) for ninth, while 86 more will put him ahead of James Wilder (3,492) for eighth.
With 2,427 career receiving yards, Cameron Brate is 17th in Bucs history. He needs 278 more to pass Warrick Dunn (2,704) for 16th.
Career Receiving Touchdowns
Cameron Brate is stuck on 29 receiving touchdowns in his career, leaving him fourth in team history. He needs two more to tie Kevin House (31) for third.
With a touchdown catch last week, Chris Godwin has 22 in his career. One more will tie him with Bruce Hill (23) for ninth-most in franchise history, and two more would tie him with Dave Moore (24) for eighth.
Career Receptions
Chris Godwin’s 239 career catches have him tied with Gerald Carter for 12th-most in Bucs history. He obviously needs one more to take sole possession of 12th, and he is just 10 away from pasing Joey Galloway (248) for 11th.
Cameron Brate has 222 catches in his career, which is good enough for 14th in team history. He is 17 behind Carter and Godwin for 12th.
Career Total Touchdowns
Mike Evans took his career total touchdown total to 62 last week against the Lions, leaving him 10 away from passing Mike Alstott (71) for the franchise record.
Single-Season Points
Ryan Succop has contributed 121 points this season, which is the second-most in a single season in team history. He is 11 away from taking the franchise record from Matt Bryant (131 in 2008). (Bucs Communications)
Single-Season Passing Touchdowns
Last Saturday, Tom Brady set a new franchise record for passing touchdowns in a single season. His total is up to 36, and he can continue to build on that record against the Falcons.
Single-Season Receiving Touchdowns
With his second touchdown catch last weekend, Mike Evans set a new franchise record for receiving touchdowns in a single season (13). He broke the previous record of 12, which belonged to him already.
Single-Season Points (Team)
The Buccaneers have scored 448 points this season, which is their second-highest total in a single season. They can set a new team record with just 11 points against the Falcons, as that would move them ahead of the 2019 team (458). (Bucs Communications)
Consecutive Games With Two Passing Touchdowns
Tom Brady has thrown for two-plus touchdowns in six consecutive games, tying a franchise record. He can set a new record with a seventh straight on Sunday. (Bucs Communications)
Consecutive Games With Two Passing Touchdowns and Zero Interceptions
Tom Brady has thrown for two-plus touchdowns and zero interceptions in three straight games. If he does so again on Sunday, he will tie Josh Freeman (four in 2012) for the longest streak in team history. (Bucs Communications)
Consecutive Games Scoring 24+ Points
Tampa Bay has scored 24-plus points in six straight games, which ties a franchise record. The team can set a new record with its seventh consecutive 24-plus point game on Sunday. (Bucs Communications)
Career Sacks*
Jason Pierre-Paul’s 30.5 career sacks are good for eighth-most in team history. He needs three more to pass Brad Culpepper (33) for seventh.
With 24 career sacks, Lavonte David is 13th in franchise history. He needs 2.5 more to pass Greg Spires (26) for 12th and tie Broderick Thomas (26.5) for 11th, while 3.5 more would tie him with Shaquil Barrett (27.5) for 10th. (Bucs Communications)
*Sacks did not become an official stat until 1982.
Team Sacks
As a team, the Bucs have 47 sacks this season. That ties them with the 2019 team for second-most in a single-season in team history, so one more would give this year’s group sole possession of second. With eight more sacks, the 2020 defense would tie the 2000 defense (55 sacks) for the record. (Bucs Communications)
Career Passes Defended*
Lavonte David has 51 passes defended in his career, leaving him three away from tying Aqib Talib (54) for fifth-most in team history.
*Passes defended did not become an official stat until 1999.
Career Forced Fumbles
With a forced fumble last week, Lavonte David now has 23 in his career. He needs just one more to tie Derrick Brooks (24) for the franchise record.
Career Starts
Sunday will be Lavonte David’s 137th career start, tying him with Mike Alstott for the fifth-most starts in Bucs history. (Bucs Communications)
Career Games Played
With his 137th game played, Lavonte David will inch one closer to tying Warren Sapp (140) for ninth-most in team history.
NFL History
**Courtesy of Buccaneers Communications**
Career Touchdown Connections (Regular Season)
In their regular season careers, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have connected for 84 touchdowns. With one more, they tie Steve Young and Jerry Rice (85) for third-most in NFL history.
Career Passing Touchdowns (Regular Season)
With four touchdown passes last week, Tom Brady increased his regular season passing touchdown lead on Drew Brees (who threw zero). Brady now has 577, while Brees (568) is in second.
Quarterbacks With Multiple 40-Touchdown Seasons
With four passing scores against the Falcons on Sunday, Tom Brady would hit 40 touchdown passes in a season for the second time in his career. He would join Aaron Rodgers (three), Drew Brees (two), Peyton Manning (two) and Dan Marino (two) as the only quarterbacks with multiple such seasons.
Career Receiving Touchdowns (Regular Season)
With two touchdown receptions last week, Rob Gronkowski took his regular season career total to 86, which is good enough for 15th on the NFL’s all-time leaderboard. With one more, Gronkowski ties Andre Reed (87) for 14th, while two more would tie him with Don Maynard (88) for 13th.
Career Receiving Touchdowns (Including Postseason)
Including the playoffs, Rob Gronkowski has 98 career receiving touchdowns. That puts him in sole possession of 12th on the league’s all-time leaderboard, and two more would tie him with Don Hutson (100) for 11th.
Consecutive 1,000-Yard Receiving Seasons to Begin a Career
After a monster 181-yard performance against the Lions last week, Mike Evans is well within range of making serious NFL history on Sunday against the Falcons. He needs just 40 more receiving yards to reach 1,000, and doing so would make him the first player in league history to record seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start his career.
Career Starts
With a start against Atlanta on Sunday, Tom Brady will have 299 in his career, moving him ahead of Brett Favre (298) for the most in NFL history.
Career Games
Sunday will be Tom Brady’s 301st career game, which will move him past John Kasay (300) for 10th-most all-time.
Career Games Played (Non-Specialists)
Among non-specialists, Tom Brady will inch closer to having played the second-most games when he tallies his 301st. He will be just one behind Brett Favre (302) for second and two behind Jerry Rice (303) for the record.