In the final game of the season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I’m looking at Jameis Winston to not only shine, but break records.
As I spoke about in this week’s Pewter Plank Roundtable, I’m watching this game for the fun stuff. The most fun would obviously be to go out with a win – draft position be damned – but there is also some history that can be made by one Jameis Winston.
Jameis Winston has the opportunity today to not only set a Buccaneers franchise record, but also an NFL record. Winston needs merely 178 yards to break Josh Freeman‘s single season passing record for the Bucs. Jameis came close last season, but has a golden opportunity today to do it. On top of that, he needs 267 yards to break Andrew Luck‘s NFL record for most passing yards in the first two seasons of a career.
Both of these are extremely impressive, but considering what Winston has had to work with, it’s amazing he’s this close to Luck’s record. There has been no Vincent Jackson for nearly three-quarters of Winston’s young career, so he’s been putting up these numbers with a supporting cast like Louis Murphy, Donteea Dye, Adam Humphries, Freddie Martino, and Josh Huff. Throw in the tight ends and you have Cameron Brate – who has come into his own – as well as a mostly absent Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, and Luke Stocker.
The Bucs’ single season record is far more likely for a few reasons. First, it’s fewer yards. Even a below average game for Winston should net him the yards needed. However, there is always the chance Winston doesn’t break the record because he gets benched during the game. The Buccaneers know there’s no shot at their playoff scenario playing out, so why risk injury to their stars that could impact the 2017 season?
In fact, there was apparently a bit of a disagreement today at Raymond James that potentially could’ve been about just that;
Co-owner Ed Glazer and GM Jason Licht involved in an animated discussion on the Buc sidelines before today's matchup against the Panthers.
— Ira Kaufman (@IKaufman76) January 1, 2017
Next: All You Need To Know About Bucs/Panthers
No matter what, it’ll be fun to watch Jameis Winston chase history and hopefully see our Buccaneers finish strong.