The list of things that have not gone entirely to plan for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is pretty extensive.

From offensive line injuries to an inconsistent pass rush and the questionable decision-making of head coach Todd Bowles in his first year in the job, the Buccaneers have had to deal with both misfortune and a host of self-inflicted problems.

Yet the most bemusing issue in what can at best be described as an up-and-down season for Tom Brady following his about-face on his initial offseason decision to retire has been his lack of a rapport with Mike Evans.

Sideline frustration between Brady and Evans has been a common theme for Tampa Bay in 2022, with the latter's struggles seeing him go 11 games without scoring a receiving touchdown.

That frustration was alleviated emphatically on Sunday as Evans exploded for a hat-trick of touchdowns in helping the Buccaneers overturn a 21-10 deficit against the Carolina Panthers and clinch the NFC South with a 30-24 victory at Raymond James Stadium.

Evans caught deep shots of 63, 57 and 30 yards from Brady as he destroyed an injury-hit Panthers secondary.

He created a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on eight of his 12 targets in a performance that saw him rack up 207 receiving yards. Evans averaged 17.25 burn yards per target, trailing only Christian Watson and Davante Adams among wideouts with at least five targets in Week 17 as of Sunday.

It was belated reward for a season in which Evans, despite consistently appearing out of sync with Brady, he has excelled at getting open. Indeed, heading into Week 17, Evans led the NFL in combined open percentage (56.47) in matchups against man and zone coverage (min. 100 matchups).

His first deep touchdown reception saw Evans surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the season. It is his ninth successive 1,000-yard campaign, tying Tim Brown for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. Only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice (11) can claim to have more consecutive four-figure receiving seasons.

Evans' own record for the most successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career was also extended, but more important than his individual milestones is the confidence his treble could give both him and Brady as they prepare for the postseason.

The Buccaneers have had precious little on which to rely on the offensive side of the ball, save for their performance when going no-huddle and Brady's ability to lead comebacks in the fourth quarter.

Brady has a career-high five game-winning drives this season and four fourth-quarter comebacks, a tally that is one shy of his career-high in that respect.

But the rekindling of Brady's connection with Evans gives Tampa Bay something to lean on, a route to explosive plays that will be all the more critical in the postseason.

A narrow win over the Panthers won't do much to change perceptions that the Bucs are a team well short of being able to compete for a Super Bowl. However, Brady and Evans connecting consistently downfield improves the odds of them at least doing damage in the playoffs, especially in a possible first-round matchup with a volatile and vulnerable Dallas Cowboys secondary.

It's likely to be the final year of the Brady-Evans partnership in Tampa, one that has resulted in 32 touchdowns since the quarterback left the New England Patriots to head to the Buccaneers.

Though it remains a long shot that Brady's expected swansong with the Bucs will result in a second title in three seasons, his farewell may be extended a few weeks longer than many anticipated if he and Evans can deliver a few more demonstrations of the rapport that had previously made this offense so devastating.

Mike Evans made history with his 63-yard touchdown reception in the first half of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' critical Week 17 clash with the Carolina Panthers.

The Bucs went into the half trailing 14-10, but knowing victory would clinch the NFC South and their spot in the playoffs.

It would have been much worse for the Bucs if not for Tom Brady's deep shot to Evans, which took the latter to the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth successive season.

That saw him tie Oakland Raiders great Tim Brown for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

Only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice has a longer streak (11).

Evans already owned the longest such streak to start a career, extending his own record with a reception that the Bucs hoped would be the catalyst for a comeback in a potentially decisive game.

The NFL has upheld Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans' one-game suspension for his actions during last week's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Evans was deemed to have violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules when he knocked Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the ground during the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay's 20-10 win. He was ejected along with Lattimore, who provoked the incident by getting in the face of Bucs quarterback Tom Brady before Evans intervened with a blindside shove that prompted a brief melee between the teams.

The four-time Pro Bowler will miss Sunday's game at the Green Bay Packers after appeals officer and former NFL wide receiver James Thrash denied Evans' request to overturn the penalty.

Evans' absence further depletes a Buccaneers receiving corps that was already shorthanded last week with Chris Godwin and Julio Jones both inactive. Godwin is reportedly expected to miss multiple games after injuring his hamstring in Tampa Bay's season-opening win at the Dallas Cowboys, while Jones sat out the New Orleans game with a knee injury and is uncertain to return against the Packers.

The Buccaneers did sign veteran slot receiver Cole Beasley to the practice squad on Tuesday, though it is unclear if he'll be ready to help out immediately.

Evans, the only player in NFL history to begin his career with eight consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards, leads Tampa Bay with eight catches and 132 receiving yards through two games.

The 29-year-old was previously suspended one game in 2017 for a similar confrontation with Lattimore.

In this latest incident, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan determined that Evans' actions were excessive and unnecessary and broke league safety and sportsmanship rules.

"After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your team-mates engaged in a confrontation with Saints' players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation," Runyan wrote in a letter to Evans informing him of the decision.

"You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional."