Tag: bucs lions

It’s not an NFL Sunday without Jameis Winston throwing an interception

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston had an interception on the team’s first drive, but had a monster first quarter.

It started off as a joke, but it really does seem to be true: You can’t have an NFL Sunday without a Jameis Winston interception.

After starting off last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts with an interception on his first pass attempt, Winston waited a few plays on the opening drive before throwing his first pick of the game.

That interception gave Winston 24 on the year, which tied him with Doug Williams (1979) for the second-most interceptions by a Bucs quarterback in a season. Winston, thankfully, isn’t approaching the 35 interceptions Vinny Testaverde threw in 1988..

But, as bad as that interception looked, Winston had a monster first quarter, throwing for over 200 yards with two touchdown passes.

See how Twitter tried to make sense of Winston’s big quarter.

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3 bold predictions for Week 15’s matchup against the Lions

Find out why Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones could have a big day Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

The Buccaneers have a chance to make it four-straight wins Sunday with a victory over the Lions, which would pull their record back to .500.

Tampa Bay will be without wide receiver Mike Evans, who will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a hamstring injury in last Sunday’s win over the Colts.

Detroit may seem like an easy opponent to roll through, considering they’ve lost six-straight games and are starting an undrafted rookie quarterback in David Blough. But playing at home and in desperate need of a win, the Lions could turn out to be a more dangerous opponent than the Bucs anticipated.

With that, here are three bold predictions for Sunday’s game.

Defense bounces back

The Bucs gave up 35 points in Week 14 to the Colts after surrendering a combined 33 points the previous two weeks. Granted, seven of those points last week came courtesy of a Jameis Winston pick-six, but the defense didn’t look as solid as they did in Week 13’s game against the Jaguars. I think the inexperience of Blough is going to make things easier for defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. I expect the secondary to get a couple of picks and for Shaq Barrett to break the franchise’s single-season sack mark. He needs just 1.5 sacks to do so. Ultimately, I think the defense holds the Lions under 20 points.

Winston throws five touchdowns

Winston has had one career game where he’s thrown for five touchdowns, and that was all the way back in Week 11 of his rookie year in 2015. Detroit’s defense is tied for the fewest interceptions in the league, which is great news for the turnover-prone Winston. Even without Evans, I think Winston will come out firing, looking to build off his big game from last week. I wish I could predict no turnovers for the Bucs quarterback, too, but I think we all see at least one pick in his (immediate) future.

Ronald Jones has 100 receiving yards

We’ve all been waiting for Jones to have his first career 100-yard rushing game, fantasy owners especially. If he’s not going to do that, why not predict a 100-yard receiving game then? With Evans out the Bucs may look to use Jones as a receiver more out of the backfield. It’s not hard to envision him breaking off a few big runs on a screen pass. Plus, Jones did have eight catches for 77 yards back in Week 10’s win over the Cardinals. 100 seems more than attainable.

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Jason Pierre-Paul is getting into the holiday spirit

See a festive Jason Pierre-Paul boarding the team plane for Detroit.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into Detroit in Week 15 to take on the woeful Lions. The Bucs may already be eliminated from the playoffs, but a win Sunday would make it four-straight for Bruce Arians’ squad and pull their record back to .500.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Bucs, highlighted by their brutal five-game stretch away from home earlier in the year. But, this team has a lot to be thankful for. They’ve seen the emergence of third-year receiver Chris Godwin, who has not only solidified himself as a true No. 2, but also has a chance to break the franchise’s single-season receiving mark.

On the defensive side, the team couldn’t be happier to have defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul back in the mix. JPP suffered a fractured neck in a single-car accident during the offseason, which put his season in doubt. But, Pierre-Paul has come back strong and seems to be enjoying life (and the holidays) as the team headed to Detroit today.

Take a look.

You’ve got to admit, he does make red look good. JPP seems like a happy guy just as long as he doesn’t catch you taking pictures of his car.

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Good news for Jameis Winston entering Week 15’s matchup with the Lions

Find out why Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston could be poised for another big game in Week 15.

After throwing for a career-high 456 yards in last Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is now on pace to become just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season.

The downside to Winston’s pass-happy style is that he’s also thrown a league-high 23 interceptions, which has only fueled the debate about whether or not the team will bring him back next season.

Working in Winston’s favor, though, is the fact the Bucs are 4-1 over their last five games and are riding a three-game winning-streak entering Sunday’s game in Detroit against the Lions. If he can finish strong over the final three weeks, it’d go a long way in convincing the Bucs to offer him a new deal.

And, the good news for the interception-prone Winston is that the Lions defense is tied for last in interceptions with just five. Perhaps knowing that will give Winston even more confidence to fire the ball.

Still, don’t forget about what happened back in Week 1, when Winston got intercepted three times by a Niners defense that had three interceptions all of last season. Anything can happen on any given Sunday.

But. based on how well this Bucs team has been playing of late, I think Winston will have another monster game.

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