Mike Evans made NFL history – once again – on Sunday, and this time he put his name alongside the greatest pass-catcher in NFL history.

With a eight-yard reception in the 4th quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week 18 game against the New Orleans Saints, Evans surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season. It was the 11th time in 11 NFL campaigns that he has hit that mark, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most such seasons in a row.

Rice is also the only player in league annals with more overall 1,000-yard receiving seasons than Evans. With his 11th, the Buccaneers’ star broke a tie with Randy Moss for second place on the list. Evans already owns the record for the most 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a player’s career and is now nearly double the previous record of six set by Moss from 1998-2003.

After racking up 1,255 yards in 2023 for his 10th straight 1,000-yard season, Evans had a trickier path to the mark this year due to a hamstring injury that cost him three games and most of a fourth. Evans returned to action in Week 12 and at the time still needed 665 yards over the final seven games to get to quadruple digits. He proceeded to average 96.7 yards per game over the next six weeks, with a 159-yard outing against the Chargers and 118 against the Panthers, to put his total at 915 yards heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale. He finally got there on his 9th catch of the day.

Evans seems certain to join Rice and Moss in the Hall of Fame at some point after his playing career is over, and Sunday’s accomplishment only adds to his impressive resume. Evans came into Sunday’s game ranked ninth in NFL history with 105 receiving touchdowns and 21st with 106 total touchdowns. He was 24th in receiving yards, with 12,595, before the Saints game.