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Following an inexcusable loss to the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans was in the tunnel signing autographs for referees. In the video, Sweet Caroline, the Panthers' victory song, is blaring, so the game is only just over. As the team descends into the tunnel, Evans stops to sign autographs for two referees.
NFL insider Tom Pelissero shared the video and identified the two referees from the game as Tripp Sutter (line judge) and Jeff Lamberth (side judge) respectively. This is prohibited by the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. Refs are not allowed to ask players, coaches or any other member of the team for any autograph, memorabilia item or anything else.
They are supposed to be impartial, but this suggests that they are fans of Evans. The NFL is reportedly investigating the incident. As this can clearly be seen in the video, punishment is more than likely. What that punishment will be remains to be seen, but this is not the kind of publicity that the NFL wants. Referees are often blamed for losses, especially if they blow a call, so it's a bad look to have some of them clearly favoring any player at any point.
Ultimately, if the refs did favor the Buccaneers, it wasn't enough. The Panthers bullied them into a 21-3 loss. They were helped tremendously by an Evans drop on what would have been a walk-in 75-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. Tampa Bay failed to score a touchdown all day.
Where the loss leaves Mike Evans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady has never been under .500 this late into the season in his career, and yet the Buccaneers have floundered to a 3-4 start. They are only one game up on the last-place Panthers and the New Orleans Saints, who are 2-5. One of these teams is going to make the playoffs by virtue of being a division winner. It might not be a team with a particularly good record, though.
FiveThirtyEight, an NFL odds and prediction maker, suggests that the Buccaneers are still the team to beat in the NFC South, despite their latest loss. They still have a 55% chance to win the division. The Atlanta Falcons are the next closest at 25%. This loss to the Panthers hurts their potential seeding, but it doesn't seem to have hampered their playoff pursuit all that much.
We will see if the Buccaneers can change the trajectory of their season in the coming weeks.
