Buccaneers: Jameis Winston INT stats show a telling story

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a tough decision to make at quarterback and much of that has to do with Jameis Winston’s 2019 season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fanbase is torn when it comes to the quarterback position during the 2020 offseason.

Many Buccaneers fans want to see QB Jameis Winston return and like what they see from the fifth-year veteran because of his passing yards and touchdown totals.

Others are ready to move on from Winston and, instead, are looking to free-agency with a player like Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Teddy Bridgewater or Ryan Tannehill potentially serving as the answer for the time being until the franchise can draft another QB for the future.

No matter where you stand on the discussion, ESPN’s Paul Hembekides shared some interesting statistics pertaining to Winston’s interception totals that paint a telling story. Here’s a look at those stats.

Jameis Winston’s 2019 interceptions:

• 25 with a clean pocket (most in the NFL)
• 23 within one possession (most in the NFL)
• 22 targeting WRs (most in the NFL)
• 19 when trailing (most in the NFL)
• 17 against zone defenses (most in the NFL)
• 13 against man defenses (most in the NFL)
• 13 against a blitz (most in the NFL)
• 11 on third down (most in the NFL)
• 10 in the fourth quarter (most in the NFL)

Thoughts:

It doesn’t matter what side of the argument you sit, you simply can’t win with numbers like this. Yes, I understand that some of those interceptions have to do with players letting the ball bounce off their fingers and into a defender’s hands. But you also have to realize that Winston threw some passes that were catchable by defenders, and those were simply dropped.

Throwing 25 interceptions with a clean pocket is probably the most telling stat out of this group.

Many want to point out that Winston is being rushed to get rid of the ball, but the vast majority of his interceptions came with a clean pocket.

If the Buccaneers do re-sign Winston, it’s going to be imperative these numbers improve and that all parties (from Winston to the WRs to the blockers) work much harder to refrain from turning the ball over because – as we stated earlier—a team simply can’t win if it’s constantly committing turnovers.