Now comes the hard part.

For the past month, the Tampa Bay Bucs have shouldered on through injuries knowing they would soon have the pillar of their receiving corps, Mike Evans, back on the field. Everything would return to normal in short order.

The early early-season flashes of the double-barrel attack of Evans and rookie Emeka Egbuka would resume wreaking havoc on defenses, and in time playmaking wideout Chris Godwin would join them in the three-pronged attack.

But now the shouldering has become far more challenging due to the injured shoulder – a fractured clavicle to be specific – sustained by Evans in Monday night’s 24-9 loss to Detroit.

It happened in the second quarter on what appeared to be an amazing catch of a long Baker Mayfield pass by the 32-year-old veteran, which might have gotten the Bucs back in the game early. Instead, with cornerback Rock Yan-Sin landing on him, Evans sustained both a concussion and bone break – a defining moment in the game and perhaps the Bucs’ season.

It’s not as if they haven’t been without their star pass-catcher of 12 seasons for gaps in the schedule before due to injury. But it’s never been a prolonged absence like this one.

If all goes well, Evans could return for the playoffs, and that would certainly be a welcome sight. But for now, offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard must design plays without him likely for the duration of the regular season. The one consolation is that he can seek to fill the sizable void with dazzling rookie Egbuka, and the surprisingly effective play of understudies Sterling Shepard, second-year receiver Kam Johnson, and rookie Tez Johnson.

“He’s definitely going to have to do that, but we’ve been doing it the past couple weeks since he’s been out, so it’s kind of the norm right now, unfortunately,” head coach Todd Bowles told the media Tuesday. “When you lose somebody like that, it’s always going to affect your offense and you’re going to have to change and do different things.”

Monday night marked the first game this season that the offense couldn’t get on track with its passing or rushing game. Mayfield was under constant pressure from the Lions’ swarming offense and forced to hurry throws, occasionally missing his targets with high tosses – previously a rarity this season. His trademark scrambles were frequently squashed before they could go anywhere. And third-down efficiency was a dismal 4 for 16.

“They picked a good time mixing coverages with us and mixing pressures on us,” Bowles said. “Looking at the tape, there weren’t a lot of people open down the field on third down, and they were making him hold the ball and they kind of got to him a little bit. They had some coverage sacks and some coverage pressures in there. They did a good job – you’ve got to give them credit.”

For the most part, the Lions’ D – missing its entire starting secondary – still found a way to make Mayfield uncomfortable throughout the game, with its relentless pressure that resulted in four sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

“It’s tough,” Bowles said. “When you’re chipping with the tight end and the (running) back and trying to just get three guys open, it’s awfully tough when they were mixing the coverages like that. They were getting pressure up the middle (and) even if they weren’t getting there, they were kind of disrupting where (Mayfield’s) feet were. We’ve got to do a better job of protecting, but we’ve got to do a better job of getting open, as well.”

Bowles said the game could provide a valuable take-away for first-year coordinator Grizzard.

““Patience,” he said. “Every game is going to be different – just patience. If your quarterback is not on and not going, you’ve got to help him out with either the run game or screen passes. When you have to protect, you have to do different things and chip. If the running game isn’t going from a power standpoint, we’ve got to try to get on the edge – just different tips. He’s going to learn each week – whether he scores 40 points or 10 points – he’s going to learn different things each week that he can put in his arsenal and get better at next week.”

Evans wasn’t the only injury of note. Linebacker Haason Reddick, off to a strong start with his new team, left in the fourth quarter with a knee and ankle injury. He’ll receive an MRI Tuesday to assess his condition and playing status for Sunday’s 1 p.m. NFC South contest in New Orleans. It's a challenging short week for the Bucs, but the upside is the Saints are woeful at 1-6.

Bowles said he noticed Mayfield limping at the on the last series. “He has not been in yet this morning to see what exactly is wrong with him. We’ll see.”

That, of course, is what they’ll have to do without Evans now. Will Egbuka, Shepard and the Johnson & Johnson duo continue to mesh with Mayfield and keep the passing game going?

We’ll see.