Less than a month ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were sitting at 3-7 after a Week 11 home loss to the New Orleans Saints. Fans were clamoring for Jameis Winston’s job and the team seemed destined for a top spot in the 2020 NFL Draft.
But, oh how fast things can change in the NFL.
Following Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Buccaneers are 6-7 and riding a three-game winning streak as they prepare to head to Detroit in Week 15 to take on a Lions team that’s lost six-straight.
Tampa Bay has averaged 33.7 points per game during their streak and are proving to the rest of the league that they aren’t going to go down without a fight, even if they have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
This week, the Bucs took another big step forward in their quest for respectability by climbing up two spots in the latest USA TODAY NFL Power Rankings, coming in at No. 15.
As usual, the enigma that is Jameis Winston was the focal point of the analysis.
“Jameis Winston conundrum deepens. Showed toughness playing with injured thumb. Has engineered three straight wins with (mostly) strong play. But he’s one pick-six from matching league’s single-season record (6).”
With the win over Indy, Tampa Bay avoided their third-straight 5-11 season. If they win out, they’ll finish 9-7, which would give them their first winning season since 2016.
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