A couple of weeks ago, the Buccaneers were 6-3 and coming off of back-to-back losses. As much as it felt like the sky was falling, no one really thought the defending Super Bowl champions were in any danger of missing the playoffs. For most, the worry was about what would happen once the Bucs got to the postseason.

Now, after a 30-10 win over the Giants and a 38-31 road victory over the Colts, Tampa Bay is 8-3 and isn’t far off from clinching the NFC South crown. With a win on Sunday over the Falcons, the team will get to nine wins and maintain its possession of the No. 3 seed in the NFC Playoff Picture. And with a complete performance, maybe some of those worries from a few weeks ago will flame out.

While there will be division and playoff implications when the Bucs visit Atlanta on Sunday to start the final full month of the 2021 regular season, there will also be plenty of history on the line. So, as we do every week, it’s time to see where the franchise and NFL record books stand heading into play this Sunday.

Buccaneers History

**All statistics and records come from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.**

Career Passing Yards

Tom Brady’s 8,036 passing yards as a Buc have him 1,404 away from passing Steve DeBerg (9,439) for seventh-most in franchise history.

Career Passing Touchdowns

Brady has thrown for 70 touchdowns during his time with Tampa Bay, tying him with Trent Dilfer for the fifth-most in team history. With one more, he officially passes Dilfer for fifth, while four more will move him ahead of Doug Williams (73) for fourth.

Career Pass Attempts

In his time with the Bucs, Brady has attempted 1,067 passes. That’s good for eighth-most in team history, and 348 more will move him past Steve DeBerg (1,414) for seventh.

Career Completions

Brady has completed 710 passes as a Buc, leaving him 104 away from passing Steve DeBerg (813) for seventh-most in franchise history.

Single-Season Passing Touchdowns

With 30 touchdown passes this season, Brady is four away from passing Jameis Winston (33 in 2019) for the second-most single-season passing scores in team history. He needs 11 more to beat his own franchise record of 40, which he set in 2020. (Bucs Communications)

Career Rushing Yards

Ronald Jones II has rushed for 2,010 yards in his career, which means he needs just 38 more to pass Earnest Graham (2,047) for 10th-most in team history.

Career Rushing Touchdowns

Last Sunday, Jones ran for his 17th career touchdown, moving him ahead of Ricky Bell (16) for eighth-most in Bucs history. He now needs three more to pass Warrick Dunn (19) for seventh and tie Cadillac Williams (20) for sixth.

Leonard Fournette is up to 13 rushing touchdowns as a Buc, tying him with LeGarrette Blount and Doug Williams for 13th-most in franchise history. With two more, he ties Earnest Graham, Lars Tate and Peyton Barber (15) for 10th.

Career Rush Attempts

Jones’ 446 rush attempts as a Buc are the 13th-most in team history. He needs 32 more to pass Earnest Graham (477) for 12th.

Career Receiving Yards

Chris Godwin is up to 4,346 receiving yards in his career, which ranks him fourth in Buccaneer history. He needs 583 more yards to pass Kevin House (4,928) for third.

Cameron Brate’s 2,619 yards are the 17th-most in team history. He is 86 away from passing Warrick Dunn (2,704) for 16th on the team’s all-time receiving yards list.

Career Receiving Touchdowns

Brate’s 30 receiving touchdowns have him one away from tying Kevin House (31) for third-most in franchise history.

With 29 receiving touchdowns in his career, Godwin is one behind Brate (30) for fourth-most in team history and two behind House (31) for third.

O.J. Howard’s 15 receiving touchdowns as a Buc give him the 15th-most in team history. He needs one more to tie Reidel Anthony (16) for 14th.

Career Receptions

Godwin’s 311 receptions as a Buc have him 11 away from passing Mark Carrier (321) for third-most in franchise history.

Brate has 242 receptions in a Tampa Bay uniform, leaving him seven away from moving ahead of Joey Galloway (248) for 12th-most in team history.

Career 100-Yard Receiving Games

Godwin has totaled 14 100-yard receiving games in his career, tying him with Kevin House for the third-most in Buccaneer history. With one more, he ties Mark Carrier (15) for second-most. (Bucs Communications)

Single-Season Receiving Touchdowns

Mike Evans’ 10 receiving touchdowns this season tie him with Joey Galloway (10 in 2005) for the fifth-most single-season receiving scores in franchise history. With one more, he moves ahead of Galloway and ties Mike Williams (11 in 2010) for fourth-most in a single season. Of course, the records he is chasing already belong to him, as he owns the top three spots on the team’s single-season receiving touchdowns list (12 in 2014 and 2016, 13 in 2020). (Bucs Communications)

Career Sacks*

Shaquil Barrett racked up two sacks against the Colts last week, giving him 35 in his Buccaneer career and moving him ahead of Chidi Ahanotu (34.5) for sixth-most in franchise history. He will now begin to chase David Logan (39) for the No. 5 spot on the team’s all-time sacks list.

Jason Pierre-Paul is stuck on 33 sacks as a Buc, tying him with Brad Culpepper for eighth-most in team history. He needs two more to pass Ahanotu (34.5) for seventh and tie Barrett for sixth.

Lavonte David’s 24 sacks leave him 2.5 away from passing Greg Spires (26) for 12th-most in Bucs history and tying Broderick Thomas (26.5) for 11th. (Bucs Communications)

*Per Pro Football Reference, sacks did not become an official stat until 1982.

Career Passes Defended*

With a crucial pass defended in the final seconds of last week’s win over the Colts, David now has 54 in his career. That ties him with Aqib Talib for fifth-most in franchise history and he now needs 11 more to pass Donnie Abraham (64) for fourth.

*Per Pro Football Reference, passes defended did not become an official stat until 1999.

Career Interceptions

With 12 career interceptions, David remains tied with Jeris White, Mark Robinson and Dwight Smith for the 12th-most interceptions in Buccaneer history.

Career Punts Downed Inside the 20-Yard Line

Bradley Pinion had a punt downed inside the 20 for the 55th time in his Bucs career last week, tying him with Tommy Barnhardt for the eighth-most in franchise history. He now needs two more to pass Tom Tupa (56) for seventh. (Bucs Communications)

Career Games Played

Sunday will mark Lavonte David’s 147th game as a Buc, which will bring him one closer to tying Shelton Quarles (148) for eighth-most in franchise history.

William Gholston will play his 131st game as a Buc on Sunday, moving him ahead of Brian Kelly and Demar Dotson (130) for 12th-most in team history. He will also move one behind Richard “Batman” Wood for 11th-most games played in Bucs history.

Sunday will be Mike Evans’ 118th game as a Buc, tying him with Randy Grimes for 21st-most in team history.

Career Starts

Last Sunday in Indianapolis, Lavonte David made his 146th start as a Buc, allowing him to pass Tony Mayberry (145) for fourth-most in franchise history. Sunday will be his 147th start, which will begin the journey to catching Paul Gruber (183), who ranks third on the team’s all-time starts leaderboard. (Bucs Communications)

NFL History

**All statistics and records come from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.**

Career Touchdown Connections (Regular Season)

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have connected for 88 regular season touchdowns in their time as teammates. That’s good for the third-most by any duo in league history, and they need one more to tie Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates (89) for second-most. (Bucs Communications)

Career Touchdown Connections (Regular Season + Playoffs)

Including the playoffs, Brady and Gronkowski have linked up for 102 touchdowns. They need 13 more to have the most of any duo in NFL history. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (114) currently own the record. (Bucs Communications)

Career Receiving Touchdowns

Gronkowski’s 90 career receiving touchdowns are the 13th-most by any player in league history. With one more, he ties Isaac Bruce (91) for 12th.