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Advanced Statistics from Bucs vs. Cowboys

Stat Shots presented by Air Force Reserve: Jameis Winston is putting together a rare streak for a rookie QB, this time with his feet…That and other statistical takeaways from Sunday's game.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 10-6, on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, improving their 2015 record to 4-5. Here are some of the more notable statistics and milestones from Sunday's game:

Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston scored the game-winning points on Sunday on a bootleg run that became a one-yard touchdown. Winston wasn't necessarily considered a serious rushing threat coming into the NFL Draft out of Florida State this past spring, but he has now used his legs to find the end zone in three straight games. He is the first quarterback to do that since both Russell Wilson and Cam Newton – two of the league's most dangerous running quarterbacks – did it last year. Newton is responsible for four of the last 10 instances of such streaks occurring in the NFL in the same season:

Quarterback

Tm

Streak

Dates

Jameis Winston

TAM

3

11/1-11/15/15

Russell Wilson

SEA

3

10/6-10/19/14

Cam Newton

CAR

3

12/7-12/28/14

Christian Ponder

MIN

3

9/22-11/3/13

Robert Griffin

WAS

3

9/16-9/30/12

Cam Newton

CAR

3

9/16-9/30/12

Cam Newton

CAR

4

10/2-10/23/11

Cam Newton

CAR

3

11/20-12/4/11

Michael Vick

PHI

3

11/7-11/21/10

Michael Vick

PHI

4

12/2-12/28/10

Newton also had two such streaks in 2011, his rookie season. Before Winston, however, the last rookie quarterback to score a rushing touchdown in three straight games was Washington's Robert Griffin, who did it in 2012. Winston is only the fourth rookie QB to post such a streak in the last 15 years (Newton did it twice in '11):

Rookie QB

Team

Streak

Dates

Jameis Winston

TAM

3

11/1-11/15/15

Robert Griffin

WAS

3

9/16-9/30/12

Cam Newton

CAR

4

10/2-10/23/11

Cam Newton

CAR

3

11/20-12/4/11

Chris Weinke

CAR

3

11/25-12/9/01

If Newton were to extend that streak to four games next Sunday in Philadelphia, that would truly be a rare NFL treat. Over the last 30 years, only five quarterbacks have put together such a four-game run in the same season: Newton (2011), Michael Vick (2010), Donovan McNabb (2002), Kordell Stewart (2007) and Jeff Hostetler (1993). Of that group, only Newton was a rookie. No quarterback has a five-game streak dating back through the 1960 season.

Winston also scored a rushing touchdown in the Bucs' Week Two win at New Orleans, so he has a total of four such scores in his first nine NFL games. That is already tied for the third-highest number of rushing touchdowns in a single season by a Buccaneer quarterback, and he's just one off the record. Winston is the first Buccaneers rookie quarterback to score at least four rushing touchdowns in a season.

Most Rushing TDs by a QB, Single Season, Buccaneers1t. Shaun King, 2000…5
1t. Steve Young, 1986…5
3t. Josh Freeman, 2011…4
3t. Doug Williams, 1980…4
3t. Doug Williams, 1981…4
3t. Jameis Winston, 2015…4

**

Winston's favorite target in Sunday's win was once again second-year wide receiver Mike Evans, who caught eight passes for 126 yards. That marked the second consecutive 100-yard receiving game for Evans and his third in the last four weeks. He has four such performances this year and seven in his first two NFL seasons. Evans is already tied for the sixth-most 100-yard receiving games in team history, and he's gotten to that total in rapid fashion.

100-Yard Receiving Games, Regular Season, Career, Buccaneers

Player, Seasons

100-yd. Gms.

Total Gms.

  1. WR Mark Carrier, 1987-92

15

88

2. WR Kevin House, 1980-85

14

94

3. WR Vincent Jackson, 2012-15

13

54

4t. WR Joey Galloway 2005-07

11

66

4t. WR Keyshawn Johnson, 2000-03

11

57

6t. WR Mike Evans, 2014-15

7

23

6t. WR Antonio Bryant, 2008-09

7

29

6t. TE Jimmie Giles, 1978-86

7

121

  1. WR Keenan McCardell, 2002-03

6

30

10t. WR Horace Copeland, 1993-97

5

58

10t. WR Bruce Hill, 1987-91

5

57

Evans rate of one 100-yard receiving performance for every 3.29 games he plays is the best in team history. His teammate, Vincent Jackson, ranks third in that regard, with his rate of one ever 4.15 games just behind Antonio Bryant's rate of one every 4.14 games. Evans has gotten almost halfway to Mark Carrier's team record in this category in almost exactly a fourth of the total of games played.

Even among his NFL peers as a whole, Evans is racking up 100-yard receiving games at an extraordinary rate for such a young player. Evans, who just turned 22 in August, is among the most prolific receivers of his age since 1960. The following players had the most 100-yard receiving games (since 1960) before their 23rd birthdays:

Player

Team

100-Yard Games

Randy Moss

Minnesota

11

Odell Beckham

N.Y. Giants

10

Keenan Allen

San Diego

8

Josh Gordon

Cleveland

8

Mike Evans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

7

Larry Fitzgerald

Arizona

7

Kenny Britt

Tennessee

6

Isaac Bruce

St. Louis

6

Mike Ditka

Chicago

6

Rob Gronkowski

New England

6

Hakeem Nicks

N.Y. Giants

6

Evans is the only player on that list with a chance to add to his total before he turns 23, with seven games remaining this season and his birthday not until next summer. Beckham turned 23 on November 5; he is the second-youngest player on that chart.

With 662 yards through nine Buccaneer games (of which he played in eight), Evans is on pace to get to 1,177 on the season, which would surpass the 1,051 he put up as a rookie in 2014. If he can hit quadruple digits, Evans would be the first Buccaneer ever to begin his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Only three other Tampa Bay wide receivers have had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at any point in their careers, and all three were free agent or trade acquisitions. Joey Galloway did it for three straight years from 2005-07, and Jackson has an active run of three straight (2012-14) as well. Keyshawn Johnson put up two 1,000-yard seasons in a row in 2001 and 2002. If Evans hits or surpasses that full-season projection above, he would finish with the eighth-best receiving yardage total in franchise history, and it wouldn't take too much more to get into the top five.

Most Receiving Yards, Single Season, Buccaneers

Player

Season

Yards

  1. Mark Carrier

1989

1,422

  1. Vincent Jackson

2012

1,384

  1. Joey Galloway

2005

1,287

  1. Keyshawn Johnson

2001

1,266

  1. Antonio Bryant

2008

1,248

  1. Vincent Jackson

2013

1,224

  1. Michael Clayton

2004

1,193

  1. Kevin House

1981

1,176

  1. Keenan McCardell

2003

1,174

  1. Keyshawn Johnson

2002

1,088

**

Winston and Evans had significant accomplishments in Sunday's game but the Buccaneers probably would not have come away with the victory had the team's defense been any less stingy. Strangely, that game marked the second time in 40 seasons that the Buccaneers have won by the specific score of 10-6, and both times were against the Cowboys.

Defining it a little less specifically, Sunday's game marked just the eighth time in franchise history that the  Buccaneers have won a game in which they scored 10 or fewer points. It was the first such win for the team since 2005. Here are those eight games, in reverse chronological order:

Opponent

Date

Outcome

Dallas

11/15/15

W, 10-6

at New Orleans

12/4/05

W, 10-3

at Dallas

9/9/01

W, 10-6

Chicago

10/24/99

W, 6-3

at Phoenix

12/27/92

W, 7-3

Buffalo

12/4/88

W, 10-5

L.A. Rams

9/11/80

W, 10-9

Kansas City

12/16/79

W, 3-0

Dallas scored its six points on field goals on its second and third possessions of the game, then never scored again. The Buccaneers' defense pitched a second-half shutout for the first time in almost exactly a calendar year. Tampa Bay had last done so in a 27-7 win at Washington on Nov. 16, 2014.

Dallas came into the game with the eighth-ranked rushing attack in the league but left with just 42 yards on 21 carries, for an average of exactly two yards per carry. That marks the second time this season that the Buccaneers have held an opponent to 50 rushing yards or less (also at Washington on Oct. 25) and the 35th time in team history. The Bucs lost that game at Washington but win more often than not when they can keep an opponent under 50 rushing yards. After Sunday's win, the Bucs are 26-9 in such games. Sunday's contest was also the first time since Nov. 11, 2013 (vs. Miami) that Tampa Bay has held an opponent to two yards per carry or less. They've now accomplished that feat 25 times in team annals and have a 17-8 record in those contests.

Another aspect of the Buccaneers' victory on Sunday that was unusual was that Tampa Bay won despite having a negative turnover ratio. The Cowboys' Jeff Heath intercepted two tipped passes while the Buccaneers' lone takeaway was Bradley McDougald's game-clinching pick in the end zone on Dallas' last play.

That marked the first time in four seasons that the Buccaneers have won a game without at least tying in the turnover department. The last such victory was a 22-17 decision at Atlanta in which the only turnover of the game was a pick-six by the Falcons' Asante Samuel. The Buccaneers also won at Carolina, 27-21, in November of that year despite a negative-two turnover ratio, but those stood as Tampa Bay's only two victories in such circumstances in the last five years before Sunday's game. The Bucs had been 2-27 since the start of 2011 in games in which they lost the turnover battle. In fact, Tampa Bay is just 4-15 in the same time span in games with an equal turnover ratio.

The Buccaneers' win-loss difference in games in which it has a negative turnover differential has been particularly stark in this current five-season period, but overall those three categories (positive, even and negative differentials) have been fairly steady through team history. Here are the W-L records in those three categories divided up in eight five-year periods to account for the Bucs' entire 40-season history:

Seasons

Positive

Even

Negative

2011-15

14-10, .583

4-15, .211

3-27, .100

2006-10

25-9, ,735

3-13, .188

7-23, .233

2001-05

34-8, .810

6-7, .462

4-21, .160

1996-00

31-4, .886

5-5, .500

9-26, .257

1991-95

20-8, .714

1-16, .059

5-30, .143

1986-90

16-12, .571

3-14, .176

3-31, .088

1981-85

18-10, .643

2-11, .154

5-27, .156

1976-80

15-11-1, .574

5-9, .357

2-33, .057

Each five-season period including a winning percentage of .571 or better in games with a positive turnover differential, and a winning percentage of .257 or worse in games with a negative turnover differential. Even the teams during the 2001-05 stretch, which included three playoff campaigns and the team's one Super Bowl title, won at just a .160 clip when losing the turnover battle.

Fortunately, the Buccaneers have been fairly adept at taking the ball away this season, with 16 turnovers forced to tie for eighth in the NFL through nine weeks. The Bucs ' turnover differential is just even, however, and they've only won that battle in three of nine games so far. Still, McDougald's critical interception at the end of Sunday's game did allow Tampa Bay to sustain the NFL's longest streak of games with a takeaway. The current streak stands at 16 games, which is the Buccaneers' longest such run since an incredible 54-game run from Oct. 29, 2000 to Dec. 7, 2003.

**

Connor Barth hit a 52-yard field goal in the second quarter to briefly tie the game at 3-3. That marked the 14th time Barth has hit a field goal of 50 or more yards as a Buccaneer, in 20 tries. Barth needs just one more 50+-yard field goal tie the team record in that category, currently held by Martin Gramatica. Here are the five kickers with the most 50+-yard field goals in team history, along with their percentages in that regard:

Kicker

Seasons

Made

Att.

Pct.

Martin Gramatica

1999-04

15

24

62.5%

Connor Barth

2009-12*, 15

14

20

70.0%

Michael Husted

1993-98

10

20

50.0%

Donald Igwebuike

1985-89

9

19

47.4%

Patrick Murray

2014

5

6

83.3%

** Barth was with the Buccaneers on 2013 but on injured reserve for the entire season.

Including his time with Kansas City (2008) and Denver (2014), Barth has made 15 of his 22 attempts from 50 yards away or farther. That long-range success rate of 68.2% is tied for 11th in NFL history among all kickers with at least 20 such attempts.

Best Field Goal Percentage, Career, Attempts of 50+  Yards
(minimum of 20 attempts from that range)

*

  1. Stephen Gostkowski

NE

17

21

81.0%

  1. Matt Prater

ATL/DEN/DET

26

34

76.5%

  1. Robbie Gould

CHI

20

27

74.1%

  1. Tony Zendejas

HOU/RAM

17

23

73.9%

  1. Dan Bailey

DAL

19

26

73.1%

  1. Jeff Wilkins

PHI/SF/STL

26

36

72.2%

7t. Rob Bironas

TEN

24

34

70.6%

7t. Phil Dawson

CLE/SF

36

51

70.6%

  1. Blair Walsh

MIN

19

27

70.4%

  1. Josh Brown

SEA/STL/CIN/NYG

37

54

68.5%

11t. Connor Barth

KC/TB/DEN

15

22

68.2%

11t. Mike Vanderjagt

IND/DEN

15

22

68.2%

One of the most surprising developments of Sunday's game was that both Barth and Dallas kicker Dan Bailey missed a field goal, Barth from 46 yards and Bailey from 48. That was the first miss of the season for Bailey and just the second for Barth. Despite those errant kicks, Bailey and Barth remain among the three most accurate kickers in the NFL since the start of the 2011 season (when Bailey first entered the league). Here are the top five:

Kicker

Team

Made

Att.

Pct.

Stephen Gostkowski

NE

151

167

90.4%

Dan Bailey

DAL

132

146

90.4%

Connor Barth

TB/DEN

83

93

89.2%

Matt Bryant

ATL

127

143

88.8%

Josh Brown

STL/CIN/NYG

102

115

88.7%

Barth also remains one of only five active kickers who have made all of their career extra point tries. Bailey is also on that list, as are Justin Tucker, Ryan Succop and Nick Folk.

Barth made a move up the Buccaneers' all-time scoring chart on Sunday with his four points (1-2 on FGs, 1-1 on PATs), though in this case he did not pass a fellow kicker. Barth leap-frogged the team's most recent Ring of Honor inductee, former fullback Mike Alstott, into third place on the list.

Buccaneers Career Points Scored
1. K Martin Gramatica, 1999-2004…592
2. K Michael Husted, 1993-98…502
3. K Connor Barth, 2009-12, 2015…434
4. FB Mike Alstott, 1996-2006…432
5t. K Matt Bryant, 2005-08…416
5. K Donald Igwebuike, 1985-89…416

**

Odds and Ends:

  • LB Kwon Alexander dropped Dallas quarterback Matt Cassel for an eight-yard loss in the first quarter, preventing a third-down conversion from the Buccaneers' 18-yard line and forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal. That was Alexander's second sack of the season, which he has paired with two interceptions. Alexander and former safety David Greenwood (1985) are the only two rookies in franchise history to have at least two sacks and at least two interceptions in their debut seasons.

-RB Doug Martin ran for 63 yards in Sunday's game, pushing  his career total to 3,110 rushing yards. In the process, he moved from eighth to sixth place on the Bucs' all-time list in that category, shouldering past Ricky Bell (3,057) and Reggie Cobb (3,110). Martin needs 255 more yards to pass Michael Pittman (3,364) for fifth place in team history.

  • Martin added 40 yards on four catches to give him 103 yards from scrimmage against the Cowboys. That's the fourth time in Tampa Bay's last five games that Martin has surpassed 100 yards from scrimmage. He had 10 such games in his 2012 rookie season, the second-highest single-season total ever by a Buccaneer after James Wilder's 13 in 1984. Mark Carrier and James Wilder had nine such games each in 1989 and 1985, respectively, and Warrick Dunn is fifth on that list with eight 100-yard games in 1997.
  • As mentioned above, WR Mike Evans got his fourth 100-yard receiving day of the season on Sunday. Those also qualify as four games with 100+ yards from scrimmage, so Evans has matched Martin for the team lead in that category. The Buccaneers are one of only four teams in the NFL who already have two players with at least four 100-yards-from-scrimmage performances. RB Devonta Freeman has six and WR Julio Jones has five for the Atlanta Falcons; WR Brandon Marshall has five and RB Chris Ivory has four for the New York Jets; WR Antonio Brown has six and RB Le'Veon Bell has four for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  • The Cowboys entered Tampa Bay's red zone just one time in Sunday's game and came away with a field goal. That marks the first game this season in which the Buccaneers did not allow a single touchdown on an opponent red zone trip. The last time Tampa Bay did that was in its 27-7 win at Washington last November 16. The Redskins got into the Bucs' red zone once on that day but missed a field goal. That one drive for the Cowboys on Sunday got only as far as the 16-yard line. Dallas did not achieve a first-and-goalat any point in the game. The Bucs' defense last achieved that feat in a 19-13 loss to Minnesota on Oct. 26, 2014.
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