Bucs receiver Mike Evans will try to atone for his worst game of the season vs. Carolina

Bucs receiver Mike Evans is having the best season of his career, but his worst game came in the 42-28 loss at Carolina Nov. 4.

Panthers cornerback James Bradberry held Evans to only one catch for 16 yards despite 10 targets that afternoon from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

"Like I said, they game-planned really well," Evans said. "Even though they're a one-high team, it felt like Eric Reid was just coming to me no matter what. And then Bradberry was underneath just pressing that.  So I've got to be better, more physical, faster and stronger, and I think I will be this time around."

The Bucs say Evans  was nursing a knee injury that week and it affected his play.

"A couple things that added into that," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "First of all, he's a very good football player. There's a reason why they move him around on an opposing team's best player. There's some things we could've done differently that you look back on.

"That was also the first week Mike was dinged up with his knee and wasn't able to practice the full week. Don't think he was himself. I think he got frustrated. We all were frustrated. He wasn't the only one. Credit to them. But I expect him to play a lot better this week."

Evans already has 62 catches for 1,073 yards and five touchdowns, eclipsing his total for 217 in receiving yards and scores with five games to play. He has gone over 100-yards receiving in a game six times in 11 contests this season. At the current pace, Evans would finish with 1,561 yards receiving this season.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said his team was fortunate to build a 34-14 lead in the first half.

"We were able to score early, got some points and it made it tough on them offensively," Rivera said. "We were able to do some things that we wanted to do on the defensive side. Again, it's one of those things where you just have to see what's happening, handle the situation, and we were fortunate.

"Again, I think Mike Evans is one of the good, young receivers and I still believe he's still got room for growth because he's a dynamic playmaker. He's a competitor. I love his competitive nature. I love how he scraps and fights and doesn't take anything from anybody. He's a good football player, and we were fortunate. We had a good set of circumstances that were in our favor that week."