INGLEWOOD, Calif. – If you’re looking to be the best to ever do it, don’t stop running. If you’re trying to get your team back into contention and the playoffs and put yourself on the record list, you’re going to do it harder and longer than anyone else.

That’s what Mike Evans did on Sunday against the Chargers.

Two turnovers in the second quarter put the Bucs in a hole at halftime. But then quarterback Baker Mayfield scrambled left, directing traffic and Evans ran with him until he caught a deep pass, missed cornerback Tarheeb Still and ran 57 yards for a touchdown.

It was the first of two scores for Evans, who finished with nine catches for a season-high 159 yards and two touchdowns in the Bucs’ 40-17 win.

After the game, Evans was among the last players to leave the locker room.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said casually. “I left early. They were looking for me. We had a really good game plan. We had a really big focus this week. Great trip. We knew what kind of game it was going to be and we came and delivered.”

It was the fourth straight win for the Bucs (8-6). Most impressively, they scored 40 points against a Chargers defense that had allowed the fewest in the NFL.

In just his fourth game back since his hamstring injury, Evans needed to average just over 100 receiving yards per game to reach his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season, tying Jerry Rice for the NFL record.

Now Evans just needs to average 83.6 over the last three games to break that illustrious record.

“Oh my God. It’s unbelievable,” tackle Tristan Wirfs said. “How many yards did he have (Sunday)? …That’s great. We’re all pulling for him. We’re all trying to get it for him. He gets into rare air up there. I mean, he’s already in rarefied air. He will wear a gold jacket. It’s just a matter of when.”

Evans was the player who sparked the Bucs’ offense, but offensive coordinator Liam Coen never runs out of plays.

The Bucs rushed for 223 yards, led by rookie Bucky Irving, who had 117 on 15 carries, including a 54-yard run.

Mayfield overcame a first-half interception and passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns, including one to new receiver Jalen McMillan.

Remember, after the bye week, the Bucs only had one team with a winning record on their schedule: the Chargers.

Flying to the West Coast to play a Jim Harbaugh team when you really can’t afford to lose a game is a tall order. Mayfield’s interception and a lost fumble by Rachaad White helped the Chargers take a 17-10 lead.

But even at 31 years old, Evans is the type of player who can put an entire team on his back.

“I think he’s a guaranteed Hall of Famer,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “He is everything a player wants to be. We cannot ask for more than what He is currently giving us. There’s no putting a price on what he does for this team.”

Evans would have had another touchdown and almost a 200-yard receiving day if he hadn’t been pulled down by his shirt after another catch.

“We told him we had to get him another shirt,” Bowles said.

Irving, who had to leave last week’s game because of strained back, practiced well enough Friday to convince Bowles to play him.

Another rookie, McMillan is coming of age and had five catches for 75 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown reception to cap off the game’s first drive.

“I can only imagine what it’s like for a defensive coordinator to compete against us,” Mayfield said. “Staff changes: 13 personnel (one tight end, three receivers), 21 (two backs, one tight end), 11 (one running back, one tight end). And the question is: how do you defend that? There are a lot of plays in the same formation, so it’s difficult to defend that.”

If the top scoring defense in the NFL can’t do it, who can?

The Bucs are playing about as well as any team in the league right now. It’s not just the four-game winning streak. Despite injuries to three safeties and a starting linebacker, the defense has allowed the fewest points in the NFL since the bye week.

But what the team does have is Evans, a virtual Pro Football Hall of Fame fixture who is eager to break Rice’s record and lead the Bucs to the postseason.

“Baker did a great job,” Evans said of his first touchdown. “They pushed him out to the left. I ran with him. With battling quarterbacks you have to run to get into their line of sight and I did that and he threw a great ball. I (still) don’t know who it was, but he missed a tackle, I stayed on the sideline and made a play.”

By the way, the Chargers have a rookie receiver on injured reserve named Brenden Rice. He may not have been at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, but you know he was watching.

I wonder what he’ll tell his dad about Mike Evans.

• • •

Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter for daily coverage of the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Never miss the latest on your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.