The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will end their season Sunday at home in their divisional showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.
Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is just 92 yards away from the 5,000-yard passing mark, which would make him the eighth quarterback in league history to surpass that number. But, Winston’s big numbers haven’t just been in the yardage category. He also leads the league with 28 interceptions, and could become the first player ever to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a season in addition to 5,000 yards. (Talk about a crazy season for fantasy football owners.)
Despite Winston’s turnovers, he’s played solid enough football over the past month to convince the Bucs to bring him back in 2020 for at least one more year. While the interceptions are hard to ignore, Bucs management can look at the fact that the offense has shown vast improvement in its first-year under Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
Last season, the Bucs had the third best offense in the league, averaging 415.5 yards per game, but ranked just 12th in scoring (24.8 ppg). This season, Tampa Bay once again ranks third in offense, but they also rank third in scoring, putting up an average of 29.1 points per game.
But, perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is the fact that Tampa Bay’s offense is so potent, yet they were unable to get to the playoffs. Take a look at the chart below of the top scoring offenses in the league. Count how many teams are going to the postseason and how many aren’t.
The Buccaneers were held to just 20 points in their Week 16 loss to the Houston Texans, but keep in mind they were without their top two receivers and Winston was battling a thumb injury. It was just the fourth time all season Tampa Bay has been held to 20 points or less.
If Winston can work out his interception issues in the offseason, Tampa Bay could finally make it to the postseason next year. The defense has been coming on strong in the second half, and if they can retain pending free agent Shaq Barrett, it will only continue to grow.
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