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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Record-Setting Tight Ends Come Up Big

Stat Shots: Jameis Winston had the first 300-yard, 3-TD, zero-INT game of his career on Sunday, in the process making very good use of his dynamic pair of tight ends, Cam Brate & O.J. Howard

Third-year QB Jameis Winston turned in an outstanding performance in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 25-23 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, passing for 332 yards and three touchdowns. That marked his second consecutive 300-yard outing and the seventh of his career. Winston ranks fourth in team history in that category and is more than halfway to the top spot after just 34 career games played.

Most 300-Yard Passing Games, Buccaneers History

**Quarterback** **Seasons** **GP** **300-Yard Games**
Vinny Testaverde 1987-92 76 12
Doug Williams 1978-82 67 10
Brad Johnson 2001-04 49 8
Jameis Winston 2015-17 34 7
Steve DeBerg 1984-87; 92 64 6
Josh Freeman 2009-12 60 6

A behind-the-scenes look at the Buccaneers' Week 4 matchup with the Giants.

The Buccaneers have won three of the seven games in which Winston has topped the 300-yard mark. That already equals the most victories by a Tampa Bay quarterback in games in which he throws for at least 300 yards. Testaverde had a 3-9 record in such outings.

Winston was not intercepted in Sunday's victory. It's his first career game with at least 300 passing yards, three touchdown tosses and no interceptions, and it's only the fifth time any Buccaneer quarterback has recorded such a game. Winston is the first Tampa Bay quarterback to do so in a victory in 15 years.

**Quarterback** **Opp.** **Date** **Outcome** **Yards** **TDs** **INTs**
Jameis Winston NYG 10/1/17 W, 25-23 332 3 0
Josh Freeman NO 10/21/12 L, 35-28 420 3 0
Brad Johnson MIN 11/3/02 W, 38-24 313 5 0
Craig Erickson IND 9/11/94 W, 24-10 313 3 0
Steve DeBerg STL 11/8/87 L, 31-28 303 3 0

The interesting thing about Winston's latest 300-yard performance is that it was not accompanied by any Buccaneer pass-catcher reaching 100 yards. Rather, Winston spread the ball around to seven different targets, led by Cameron Brate's 80 yards. Adam Humphries added 70 receiving yards, while Mike Evans had 67 and O.J. Howard had 63.

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Surprisingly, that is the first time in the Buccaneers' 42-season history that four different players each topped 60 receiving yards in the same game**. That is actually a not terribly common feat; only one other team has done it this year, when New England's Rob Gronkowski (116), James White (85), Chris Hogan (78) and Phillip Dorsett (68) did so against New Orleans on Sept. 17.

Howard's 63 yards included a 58-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, his first score as a pro. He and Brate are just the third pair of tight ends in team history to each surpass 60 receiving yards in the same game. Two Buccaneer Tight Ends with 60+ Receiving Yards Each

**Tight End #1** **Yards** **Tight End #2** **Yards** **Opp.** **Date**
Jimmie Giles 116 Jerry Bell 89 MIA 10/20/85
Alex Smith 79 Jerramy Stevens 73 SF 12/23/07
Cameron Brate 80 O.J. Howard 63 NYG 10/1/17

Through the first four weeks of the 2017 season, Brate and Howard are the only pair of tight end teammates to each score in the same game. That dual feat was last accomplished on the final weekend of the 2016 season, by three different tight end pairs: Cleveland's Gary Barnidge and Seth DeValve against Pittsburgh; San Diego's Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry against Kansas City; and Indianapolis' Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle against Jacksonville.

The last time any pair of NFL tight end teammates each surpassed 60 receiving yards and scored a touchdown in the same game was three seasons ago, when Rob Gronkowski and Tim Wright pulled off the trick against Chicago on October 26, 2014.

Brate has now scored twice this season; he is tied for second among NFL tight ends in touchdown catches in 2017. He tied San Diego's Henry for that lead in 2016, with eight scoring grabs. Since the start of last season, Brate has the most touchdown receptions of any tight end in the NFL. Most Touchdown Receptions, Tight End, 2016-17

**Tight End** **Team(s)** **TDs**
1. Cameron Brate TB 10
2. Hunter Henry SD 9
3t. Antonio Gates SD 8
3t. Kyle Rudolph MIN 8
5t. Martellus Bennett NE/GB 7
5t. Delanie Walker TEN 7

Howard scored when he slipped into the clear down the left sideline and caught Winston's pass with no defenders in sight, rumbling the final 30 yards for the score. It's the third-longest touchdown by a tight end so far this season and the longest by a Buccaneer tight end in 15 years. Longest Touchdown Catches, Tight End, Buccaneers History

**Player** **Opp.** **Date** **Yards**
1t. Tyji Armstrong LAR 12/6/92 81
1t. Jimmie Giles CHI 11/1/81 81
3. Jimmie Giles DET 9/1/79 66
4. O.J. Howard NYG 10/1/17 58
5. Ron Hall DET 9/9/90 54

Evans caught Winston's other touchdown pass and now has two touchdowns on the season, as well. Evans continues his inexorable climb up the Buccaneers' all-time receiving touchdown list, pulling out of a tie with Joey Galloway on Sunday. He needs only three more touchdowns to pass Kevin House for second place on that chart, and first place among wideouts. Most Receiving Touchdowns, Buccaneers History

**Player** **Seasons** **TDs**
1. Jimmie Giles (TE) 1978-86 34
2. Kevin House 1980-86 31
3. Mike Evans 2014-17 29
4. Joey Galloway 2004-08 28
5. Mark Carrier 1987-92 27

Evans, who turned 25 this past August is also close to becoming just the seventh player in NFL history reach 30 touchdown catches before his 25th birthday.

Most Receiving TDs Before Turning 25, NFL History

**Player** **Team** **Seasons** **TDs**
1. Randy Moss MIN 1998-2001 53
2. Rob Gronkowski NE 2010-13 42
3. Odell Beckham* NYG 2014-17 37
4. John Jefferson SD 1978-80 36
5. Larry Fitzgerald AZ 2004-07 34
6. Harlon Hill CHI 1954-56 32
7. Mike Evans* TB 2014-17 29
8. Sammy White MIN 1976-78 28
9t. Lance Alworth SD 1962-64 27
9t. Dez Bryant DAL 2010-12 27
9t. Buddy Dial PIT 1959-61 27
9t. Hakeem Nicks NYG 2009-12 27
  • Still under 25
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