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Antoine Winfield Jr. Is Everything, All at Once

Data Crunch: Fourth-year S Antoine Winfield Jr. is putting up statistical combos the league hasn't seen in at least a quarter-century…OLB Yaya Diaby is now tied for the NFL lead in sacks among rookies

antoine winfield jr

Antoine Winfield Jr. is the chameleon in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense.

Say you were presented with this stat line, but not told the name or position of the player: 110 tackles, five tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, seven quarterback hits, three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. You could credibly believe that this player was a very good outside linebacker, inside linebacker, cornerback or safety. And in a way, Winfield is all of those things to the Buccaneers, changing his colors whenever necessary.

In the Buccaneers' 30-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Winfield combined a sack with a fumble recovery and an interception. He is just the second player in the NFL this season to do all three of those things in one game, joining Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard, who did it in Week Three against Washington. The last Buccaneer defender to combine all three of those accomplishments in one game was linebacker Geno Hayes in 2009.

This is not normal stuff. Since 1999, when fumble data started being regularly tracked, Winfield is the very first player to combine at least five sacks with at least five forced fumbles, at least four fumble recoveries and at least three interceptions in one season. He is the first defensive back to put together just the five sack/five forced fumble combo platter.

With his three tackles in the game, Winfield pushed his season total to 110, making him the first Tampa Bay defensive back to get 110 or more stops in a season since Hall of Fame safety John Lynch had 117 in 1999. Since that 1999 commencement of data collection, Winfield is the first player to surpass 100 tackles and have at least three sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.

Winfield has now had two games this season in which he recorded both a sack and an interception, as he also double-dipped against Carolina in Week 13. He and Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith are the only two players in the NFL who have done that twice this season.

Winfield's second-quarter sack of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence came on third down and forced a punt shortly before halftime. It was the 14th sack of Winfield's four-year career, which is already the most by a safety in Buccaneers franchise history. It's also the most by an NFL defensive back since he entered the league in 2020.

Most Sacks, NFL Defensive Backs, 2020-23

Table inside Article
Defensive Back Team (s) Sacks
Antoine Winfield Jr. Buccaneers 14.0
Jamal Adams Seahawks 9.5
Donovan Wilson Cowboys 8.5
Brandon Jones Dolphins 8.0
Isaiah Simmons Cardinals/Giants 7.5

Winfield was one of four Buccaneers to get involved in the Bucs' four-sack outing against the Jaguars. Rookie outside linebacker Yaya Diaby had 1.5 sacks, sharing one of them with linebacker Devin White, and linebacker Lavonte David had the other one. For David, it increased his season total to 4.5 sacks, his highest total since he had 5.0 in 2016. David moved up two spots on the Bucs' all-time sack list, leaping over both Jason Pierre-Paul and Brad Culpepper into eighth place.

Most Sacks, Buccaneers History

1. DE Lee Roy Selmon: 78.5

2. DT Warren Sapp: 77.0

3. DE Simeon Rice: 69.5

4. DT Gerald McCoy: 54.5

5. OLB Shaquil Barrett: 45.0

6. DT David Logan: 39.0

7. DE Chidi Ahanotu: 34.5

8. LB Lavonte David: 33.5

9t. DT Brad Culpepper: 33.0

9t. OLB Jason Pierre-Paul: 33.0

Winfield and David are two of the eight players in the NFL who have already exceeded 100 tackles and four sacks this season.

With his 1.5 QB takedowns, Diaby moved into the team lead in that category, with 6.5 on the season, one more than defensive lineman Vita Vea. That's the third highest sack total by a rookie in franchise history.

Most Sacks, Rookie Season, Buccaneers History

1. Santana Dotson, 1992: 10.0

2. Adrian Clayborn, 2011: 7.5

3. Yaya Diaby, 2023: 6.5

4. Gaines Adams, 2007: 6.0

5. Noah Spence, 2016: 5.5

Diaby is also now tied for the 2023 sack lead among all NFL rookies.

Most Sacks, NFL Rookies, 2023

1t. Yaya Diaby, Buccaneers: 6.5

1t. Kobie Turner, Rams: 6.5

3. Byron Young, Rams: 6.0

4t. Will Anderson, Texans: 5.0

4t. Jalen Carter, Eagles: 5.0

Diaby had two tackles for loss against Jacksonville, also blowing up an attempted end around by Calvin Ridley for a loss of 12 yards in the second quarter, which helped make Jacksonville's only field goal attempt of the game a 52-yarder. Brandon McManus missed it wide right. Diaby has nine tackles for loss on the season, and the only NFL rookie with more this season is his teammate, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey.

Most Tackles for Loss, NFL Rookies, 2023

1. Calijah Kancey, Buccaneers: 10

2. Yaya Diaby, Buccaneers: 9

3t. Will Anderson, Texans: 8

3t. Tuli Tuipulotu, Chargers: 8

5t. three tied with: 7

Diaby's split sack with White early in the third quarter on Sunday dislodged the football from Lawrence, and Diaby fell on it at the Jacksonville 37. That was one of four takeaways by Tampa Bay's defense, a season high, and three of them resulted in touchdowns by the offense. The Buccaneers' 21 points off takeaways against Jacksonville was more than double their previous high in any games this season.

The Buccaneers' offense also did not turn over the ball, the fifth time this season they've managed to keep that stat line clean. That improved Tampa Bay's turnover ratio in 2023 to +10; headed into the three Christmas Day games, that was tied for the second best mark in the league with Pittsburgh, three behind San Francisco. This was the first game since Week Seven of the 2021 season that the Bucs posted a turnover ratio of +4 or better; they have won 17 straight games when they hit +4, dating all the way back to the 2001 season.

The Buccaneers took a 20-0 lead into halftime on Sunday, marking the first time all season they pitched a first-half shutout, and the first time overall since Week 10 of last year, when they beat the Seahawks 21-16 in Munich, Germany. Quarterback Baker Mayfield powered the Bucs to that big early lead with a pair of touchdown passes to wide receiver Mike Evans, one for three yards and one for 22. That pushed Mayfield's season total to 26 touchdown passes, just one shy of his 27 as a rookie in 2018. Mayfield was not picked off, so his current touchdown-interception ratio is 26-8, or 3.3, which ranks fourth in the NFL behind Dak Prescott (4.3), Brock Purdy (4.1) and C.J. Stroud (4.0). Mayfield's touchdown to interception differential of +18 is tied for third best.

Best Touchdown-Interception Differential, NFL, 2023

Table inside Article
Quarterback Team TDs INTs Diff.
Dak Prescott Cowboys 30 7 +23
Brock Purdy 49ers 29 7 +22
Baker Mayfield Buccaneers 26 8 +18
Russell Wilson Broncos 26 8 +18
Jared Goff Lions 27 10 +17

Mayfield improved his season passer rating to 96.2, which if maintained would be a new career high and the fifth-best single-season mark in Bucs history. Over the course of the Bucs' current four-game winning streak, he has compiled a rating of 110.6, third best in the NFL in that span.

Best Passer Rating, NFL, Weeks 13-16

1. Matthew Stafford, Rams: 112.4

2. Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: 110.7

3. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers: 110.6

4. Derek Carr, Saints: 109.9

5. Jordan Love, Packers: 103.3

Evans scored his two touchdowns while leading the team with seven receptions for 86 yards. He increased his season total to 13 touchdowns, which now leads the NFL by one over Miami's Tyreek Hill.

NFL's Touchdown Receptions Leaders, 2023

1. Mike Evans, Buccaneers: 13

2. Tyreek Hill, Dolphins: 12

3. Courtland Sutton, Broncos: 10

4t. CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys: 9

4t. Sam LaPorta, Lions: 9

This is also now the second highest touchdown catch total Evans has achieved in his illustrious career. Since he now owns the five highest totals in that category in franchise history, that's also the second most ever by a Buccaneer.

Most Touchdown Receptions, Single Season, Buccaneers History.

1. Mike Evans, 2021: 14

2t. Mike Evans, 2023: 13

2t. Mike Evans, 2020: 13

4t. Mike Evans, 2014: 12

4t. Mike Evans, 2016: 12

5t. Mike Evans, 2023: 11

5t. Mike Williams, 2010: 11

Those five seasons with a dozen or more touchdown receptions also put Evans into some very exclusive NFL company. He became just the fifth player ever to do that at least five times, and the other four are already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Most Seasons with 12+ Touchdown Receptions, NFL History

1. Jerry Rice, 49ers/Raiders/Seahawks: 8

2. Terrell Owens, 49ers/Cowboys/Eagles/Bills/Bengals: 7

3. Marvin Harrison, Colts: 6

4.Randy Moss, Vikings/Raiders/Patriots/Titans/49ers: 6

5. Mike Evans, Buccaneers: 5

And, of course, Evans continue to bash his way towards the top of the NFL's all-time list in touchdown grabs. He came into Sunday's game against Jacksonville tied for 12th on the list but now has that spot all to himself. He needs five more to grab a share of 11th place.

NFL All-Time Touchdown Receptions Leaders

1. Jerry Rice: 197

2. Randy Moss: 156

3. Terrell Owens: 153

4. Cris Carter: 130

5. Marvin Harrison: 128

6. Larry Fitzgerald: 121

7. Antonio Gates: 116

8. Tony Gonzalez: 111

9t. Tim Brown: 100

9t. Steve Largent: 100

11. Don Hutson: 99

12. Mike Evans: 94

13t. Davante Adams: 92

13t. Rob Gronkowski: 92

Kicker Chase McLaughlin provided 12 of the Buccaneers' 30 points against Jacksonville, making all six of his kicks, including three field goals and three extra points. One of his three field goals was a 51-yarder in the third quarter, his sixth shot of 50+ yards this season, in seven tries. McLaughlin improved to 26 of 28 overall on field goal attempts this season, which currently has him tied for the best success rate in franchise history.

Highest Field Goal Percentage, Single Season, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Kicker Season Made Att. Pct.
Connor Barth 2011 26 28 92.9%
Chase McLaughlin 2023 26 28 92.9%
Ryan Succop 2020 28 31 90.3%
Steve Christie 1990 23 27 85.2%
Connor Barth 2012 28 33 84.8%

All of it added up to a runaway victory for the Buccaneers, their fourth in a row. It's the team's first four-game winning streak within a single season since 2001, in Weeks 11-14. The Buccaneers are one of only three teams who will take a winning streak of four or more games into Week 17, joining San Francisco (six) and Baltimore (four).

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