It’s been a while since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played a meaningful game in December, and even though this year’s team will miss out on the postseason again, you can’t say they haven’t been fun to watch.
The Bucs are 4-1 in their last five games and are coming off a huge comeback win in Week 14 over the Colts. This Sunday, they’ll travel to Detroit to take on the Lions who have lost six-straight games.
Even though Tampa Bay will be without wide receiver Mike Evans for the rest of the year due to a hamstring injury, the Bucs are still favored over Detroit, likely because of quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Bucs starter had four touchdown passes in the win over the Colts and rushed for another while throwing for a career-high 456 yards. He had three interceptions, too, but thankfully, the team was able to overcome them.
Winston is on pace for 5,000 yards now, which would put him in truly elite company. It’s probably one of the reasons fantasy expert Michael Fabiano says Winston is a “virtual must start” against Detroit.
Here’s what Fabs had to say in his QB Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em.
“Winston is coming off a monster performance, scoring nearly 35 fantasy points against the Colts. Assuming he isn’t hindered due to a tiny fracture in his hand, Winston is a virtual must start when the Bucs face the Lions in Detroit. Their defense has allowed an average of more than 20 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks in 2019.”
Winston can put up big passing numbers. The issue is just turnovers. The loss of Evans will allow guys like Breshad Perriman and O.J. Howard to get more targets, but there’s no denying that Evans was Winston’s safety blanket. Chris Godwin will have to fill that role now.
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