Yes, Todd Bowles missed Chris Godwin.

Joe is still stoked about Bucky Irving’s touchdown run yesterday.

Not only did Bucky, once he began shaking off the rust, show how badly the Bucs missed him, there was something else on the play the Bucs missed.

That was Chris Godwin’s blocking.

Right tackle Luke Goedeke pulled left and he initially got Bucky to the line of scrimmage. But it was Godwin who fully cleared a path for Bucky to house the ball.

Yesterday, Joe asked Godwin in the postgame locker room if the team missed his blocking. Typical humble Godwin, he waved that idea away and said the Bucs need blocking downfield from everyone, not just him.

But about the same time Joe was talking to Godwin, someone asked Todd Bowles if the team missed Godwin’s blocking.

Yes, Bowles said, and more that folks don’t often see on TV or All-22.

“Not only his blocking, his intelligence when Baker [Mayfield] breaks the pocket of understanding underneath coverages and knowing how to separate and where to go and being in the right spot to give him an outlet that way, and Baker trusting that,” Bowles said.

As good as Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson are showing to be, developing that feel between a quarterback and a receiver is a long process, Bowles said.

“With a lot of young guys, that takes time, but with Chris there, they have that kind of chemistry and he kind of knows where to go and see some things.

“[Godwin and Mayfield] have this sixth sense that they can see things and be on the same page, so we missed that a lot.”

And maybe more of that veteran savvy is around the corner. Today is Dec. 1, believe it or not. When Mike Evans first broke his clavicle, the target date for his return was the end of December.

JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman told Joe he heard from someone with the Bucs who has knowledge of Evans’ rehab that he could be on a practice field by the middle of the month if all continues to go well. (Ira talks more about that in his Monday podcast, which is forthcoming.)

Evans was on the sidelines yesterday and signing lots of autographs. No sling. A week ago, Jalen McMillan was on the Bucs’ sidelines in Los Angeles. Yesterday, it was learned McMillan is scheduled to return to practice this week.

Could Evans’ appearance on the Bucs’ bench yesterday foretell his return to practice shortly?

Welcome back, Bucky Irving. pic.twitter.com/ROcfHSNtA4

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 30, 2025