The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are officially on fire after beating the Detroit Lions today for their fourth-straight win. The Bucs have pulled their record back to .500 at 7-7 and with two games left — both at home — they have a chance to finish with their first winning record since 2016.

With that, here are some instant thoughts and analysis from today’s win.

Winston going wild

One of my bold predictions for today’s game was that Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston would throw for five touchdowns and at least one interception. Winston ended up throwing four touchdowns and one pick, while also setting a new career-high in passing yards with 458, one week after setting the previous high with 456 against the Colts. Winston now has 24 interceptions on the year, tying him with Doug Williams for the second most in a season by a Bucs quarterback. But, let’s cut Winston some slack. After all, Vinny Testaverde threw 35 interceptions in a season once as the Bucs quarterback. 24 doesn’t look so bad now, huh? More importantly, though, Winston’s Bucs are winning, which will likely be the reason he’s brought back to Tampa Bay next season.

Defense continues to grow

One prediction I was glad to see come true was the Bucs defense holding the Lions under 20 points, with the defense picking off Detroit quarterback David Blough twice and Shaq Barrett tying Warren Sapp for the franchise’s single-season sack record (16.5). Michigan native Sean Murphy-Bunting had quite the homecoming, picking off Blough for a pick-six that essentially sealed the victory for the Bucs. This defense is gaining some great experience over these last few weeks, and unlike years past, the team can go into the offseason knowing they have a solid defense to work with.

Godwin injured

Chris Godwin finished the day with five receptions for 121 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. This comes just one week after Mike Evans suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline him for the rest of the year. We don’t know how serious the injury is for Godwin, but, there’s a chance the team could hold him out the final two games as a precaution.

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