The numbers – eight receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns — suggest Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans had his way with Seattle’s Richard Sherman in a much-touted matchup of two of the best players in the NFL at their respective positions. But it wasn’t quite that simple.
TAMPA, Fla. — The numbers – eight receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns — suggest Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans had his way with Seattle’s Richard Sherman in a much-touted matchup of two of the best players in the NFL at their respective positions.
But it wasn’t quite that simple.
While the Seahawks did try to put Sherman in position to shadow Evans as often as possible, they didn’t do it every play. Evans’ first three receptions all appeared to come against zone defenses and not directly on Sherman, including his first touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Jameis Winston.
One notable pass did, though — a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter when Evans lined up on the left side with Sherman moving over to take him in man coverage. The two jostled for position all along the sideline with Evans getting just enough space to grab the pass, leaving Sherman complaining to the officials.
“Well you know, he grabbed my jersey early and pulled me down,’’ Sherman said. “I thought maybe you get that call and then I thought maybe a push-off at the end and you get that call. But it’s the league and they’re not going to call that.’’
From there, the Seahawks kept Evans relatively in check, with four receptions for 42 yards the rest of the game. One came when the Bucs motioned Evans off of Sherman and Seattle stayed in its zone with Evans then on Jeremy Lane, catching a pass for 10 yards in the third quarter.
“They started to motion him across and things like that,’’ Sherman said. “But yeah, whenever we could get it done (putting Sherman on Evans) we got it done.”