About a month ago, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield noted that Mike Evans’ 1,000-yard rushing was important to the team, but Evans was interested in winning.

Mayfield leaned on Evans in Sunday’s game against the Chargers and it worked well as Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles 40-17.

Evans finished the game with 159 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns. That means he has 749 yards receiving with three games to go this season.

Both scores came in the third quarter – the first a 57-yard catch-and-run, the second a 35-yard strike by Mayfield that Evans caught in the end zone.

It was the best day any team has ever had against the Chargers’ defense this season, with Los Angeles giving up a season-high 40 points. Previously, the club had not allowed more than 30 points all year.

Mayfield finished the game 22 of 27 for 288 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Bucky Irving had 117 yards on 15 carries while Rachaad White had 64 yards on 15 carries.

Although the Chargers led 17-10 midway through the second quarter, the rest of the game was entirely up to the Buccaneers, who scored the final 30 points of the game. Tampa Bay finished the day with 505 total yards, 24 first downs and 9 of 15 on third down.

On the other hand, Justin Herbert came under a lot of pressure in the second half and was eventually taken out of the game in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles faces a short week. Herbert finished 21 of 33 for 195 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was his first pick since Week 2, and he completed 357 pass attempts without throwing one.

The Chargers also couldn’t run the ball and finished with just 32 yards.

Los Angeles had just 14 first downs, 207 total yards and was 0 of 6 on third down.

The 8-6 Buccaneers are still in first place in the NFC South and will face the Cowboys on the road next Sunday night.

Also 8-6, the Chargers host division rival Broncos on Thursday night in an important game for the AFC playoff race.