The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 25-12, on Sunday to snap a two-game winning streak and drop to 5-6. Here are some of the more notable statistics and milestones from Sunday's big win:
It's safe to say that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't draft Jameis Winston first overall for his running ability. Winston's pre-draft scouting report on NFL.com contained this tidbit: "Lacks athleticism to extend plays for very long outside of the pocket." And yet the Buccaneers' impressive rookie quarterback continues to make meaningful plays with his legs…and maybe more importantly his sheer will.
Winston did so two more times in Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons. He scored the game's first points on a five-yard touchdown run when a designed rollout play presented him with no good throwing options but one narrow lane to the end zone. He took the latter and dived over the goal line underneath a pair of converging defenders. Later, while leading the Bucs on a game-winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, Winston converted a third-and-19 with an improbably second-effort run for 20 yards.
Winston has certainly displayed a nose for the end zone, having scored five rushing touchdowns this season. That's the second-highest total among all NFL quarterbacks this season.
Most Rushing Touchdowns, Quarterbacks, 2015
Player
Team
Rush TDs
- Cam Newton
Carolina
7
2. Jameis Winston
Tampa Bay
5
3t. Tom Brady
New England
3
3t. Kirk Cousins
Washington
3
3t. Andy Dalton
Cincinnati
3
3t. Joe Flacco
Baltimore
3
3t. Tyrod Taylor
Buffalo
3
Now forget the fact that Winston is a quarterback (if you can)…his five rushing touchdowns are tied for third among all NFL rookies this year, no matter the position, and he's just one off the lead.
Most Rushing Touchdowns, Rookies, 2015
Player
Pos.
Team
Rush TDs
1t. Todd Gurley
RB
St. Louis
6
1t. Jeremy Langford
RB
Chicago
6
2t. Jameis Winston
QB
Tampa Bay
5
2t. Karlos Williams
RB
Buffalo
5
5t. David Johnson
RB
Arizona
4
5t. Thomas Rawls
RB
Seattle
4
Not surprisingly, Winston's rash of rushing TDs is making a mark in the Buccaneers' own record book. Several marks, that is. First of all, he has four games left in 2015 and a chance to break the team's record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback. He's already tied the mark, which was first established by a quarterback who was known for his rushing ability.
Most Rushing Touchdowns, Buccaneers QB, Single Season
Player
Season
Rush TDs
1t. Jameis Winston
2015
5
1t. Shaun King
2000
5
1t. Steve Young
1986
5
4t. Josh Freeman
2011
4
4t. Doug Williams
1980
4
4t. Doug Williams
1981
4
Fittingly, Winston got his record-tying score on a day that the team inducted former Buccaneers QB Doug Williams into its Ring of Honor at halftime. Williams happens to hold the Bucs' career record for rushing scores by a quarterback, but Winston has needed just 12 games to rise all the way into a tie for third on that chart, with second place just ahead.
Most Rushing Touchdowns, Buccaneers QB, Career
Player
Seasons
Rush TDs
- Doug Williams
1978-82
13
- Steve Young
1985-86
6
3t. Jameis Winston
2015
5
3t. Shaun King
1999-03
5
3t. Trent Dilfer
1994-99
5
3t. Vinny Testaverde
1987-92
5
Oh, Winston threw the ball on occasion against the Falcons, too. His last pass of the day, for instance, was a five-yard touchdown connection with WR Mike Evans that produced the game-winning points with less than two minutes to play. That's already the third time in just 12 career games that Winston has directed a game-winning march, defined as an offensive scoring drive in the fourth quarter or overtime that gives the team a lead it will not relinquish. Winston had previously directed such drives against Atlanta in Week Eight and Dallas in Week 10.
According to Pro Football Reference, which tracks game-winning drives (and has Peyton Manning as the career leader with 54), Winston is one of nine quarterbacks this season who has directed at least three such drives. No player has more than four.
Most Game-Winning Drives, 2015
Player
Team
GWDs
1t. Blake Bortles
Jacksonville
4
1t. Matt Ryan
Atlanta
4
3t. Jameis Winston
Tampa Bay
3
3t. Jay Cutler
Chicago
3
3t. Andy Dalton
Cincinnati
3
3t. Joe Flacco
Baltimore
3
3t. Peyton Manning
Denver
3
3t. Cam Newton
Carolina
3
3t. Carson Palmer
Arizona
3
Not that Winston is the only rookie on that list. In fact, is just the 14th quarterback to direct as many as three game-winning drives in his rookie season. Once again, we are using game-winning drive date compiled by Pro Football Reference.
Most Game-Winning Drives, Rookie, NFL History
Player
Team
Year
GWDs
- Andrew Luck
IND
2012
7
- Ben Roethlisberger
PIT
2004
6
3t. Geno Smith
NYJ
2013
5
3t. Russell Wilson
SEA
2012
5
3t. Vince Young
TEN
2006
5
6t. Andy Dalton
CIN
2011
4
6t. Matt Ryan
ATL
2008
4
8t. Jameis Winston*
TB
2015
3
8t. Teddy Bridgewater
MIN
2014
3
8t. Bruce Gradkowski
TB
2006
3
8t. Carson Palmer
CIN
2004
3
8t. Jay Schroeder
WAS
1985
3
8t. Virgil Carter
CHI
1968
3
** Through 12 games
Winston may not be the only rookie to lead as many as three game-winning drives, but he's the youngest quarterback ever to do so. The list below is *not exclusive to rookies.*
*
Player
Team
Year
Age^
GWDs
Jameis Winston*
TB
2015
**21
3
Teddy Bridgewater
MIN
2014
21**
3
Geno Smith
NYJ
2013
22
5
Andrew Luck
IND
2012
22
7
Josh Freeman
TB
2010
22
5
Ben Roethlisberger
PIT
2004
22
6
Kerry Collins
CAR
1995
22
3
Drew Bledsoe
NE
1994
22
3
Brett Favre
GB
1992
22
3
Bernie Kosar
CLE
1986
22
7
Dan Marino
MIA
1984
22
3
Mike Pagel
BAL
1983
22
4
Virgil Carter
CHI
1968
22
3
^ Age on season's opening day. * Through 12 games. * Winston was 21 years, eight months and seven days old; Bridgewater was 21 years, nine months and 28 days old; the remaining quarterbacks were all 22 and are ordered chronologically, not by specific year-month-day age.
*
Thanks to research conducted by Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune and TBO.com, we know that Winston has a chance to post the best rookie-season passer rating among all quarterbacks drafted first-overall since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Cummings revealed that note on Sunday, before the Buccaneers' win over Atlanta, but Winston did nothing to hurt his cause. His 18-of-27 performance with 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception on Sunday produced a single-game passer rating of 89.6 which bumped up his season mark just a bit, from 85.3 to 85.7. Carolina's Cam Newton finished his rookie campaign with a rating of 84.5.*
If Winston can continue to improve his rating, he could become just the sixth Buccaneer, and the first Tampa Bay rookie, to finish a season north of 90.0. Below are the top 10 single-season passer ratings in Buccaneer annals. If Winston starts the final four games of the season, he will have the second-highest single-season rating in team history among quarterbacks who started every game.
Best Passer Rating, Single Season, Buccaneers
*
Player
Year
GP
Rating
- Brian Griese
2004
11
97.5
- Josh Freeman
2010
16
95.9
- Jeff Garcia
2007
13
94.6
- Brad Johnson
2002
13
92.9
- Jeff Garcia
2008
12
90.2
6. Jameis Winston*
2015
12
85.6
- Steve DeBerg
1987
12
85.3
- Mike Glennon
2013
13
83.9
- Trent Dilfer
1997
16
82.8
- Craig Erickson
1994
15
82.5
** Through 12 games
*With another 227 passing yards on Sunday against Atlanta, Winston improved his season total to 2,877, leaving him just 123 yards shy of the first 3,000-yard campaign by a rookie in team annals. In fact, at his current pace, Winston would finish with the second-most passing yards in a single season in team history, rookie or not. He is on pace for 3,836 yards, not enough to catch Josh Freeman's 2012 team record of 4,065 but enough to inch past the 3,811 Brad Johnson put up in 2003. With 17 touchdown passes through 12 outings, Winston remains on pace for 23 by season's end. That would rank fourth in team annals, on a list topped by Freeman's 27 in 2012, Johnson's 26 in 2003 and Freeman's 25 in 2010.
