The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New York Giants, 32-18, on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, dropping their 2015 record to 3-5. Here are some of the more notable statistics and milestones from Sunday's game:
The Buccaneers ran for 136 yards on 23 carries against the Giants, marking the fifth straight game in which the rushing attack has cracked triple digits. That's the first time Tampa Bay's offense has produced five straight 100-yard rushing games since 2010 (seven straight games, Nov. 14 to Dec. 26), and just the 10th time ever. The franchise record is nine straight 100-yard rushing games as a team, first set From Nov. 1 to Dec. 27, 1998 and then matched during the 2000 season from Oct. 19 to Dec. 18.
Photos from Buccaneers vs. Giants at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bucs have actually had at least 117 rushing yards in each of the last five games and have averaged 153.4 yards per game on the ground in that span. If one uses that arbitrary floor of 117 yards, this is just the second time that a Tampa Bay team has hit that mark in five straight outings,and the first time one has done so in the same season. The longest such streak was six games but it covered the end of the 1999 season and the first month of the 2000 campaign, from Dec. 26, 1999 to Sept. 24, 2000.
Those 153.4 yards per game make the Bucs' current run one of the best five-game stretches in franchise history, particularly when one factors in that the team is averaging 4.95 yards per carry in that stretch. There have been 16 other five-game runs in franchise history in which the team has averaged at least 150 rushing yards per game, but many of those are overlapping samples within the same season. For instance, there were six such five-game stretches during the 1979 campaign, five of them overlapping. If one takes just the optimal five-game sample during any such overlapping groups within the same season, you get this list as the best five-game rushing-attack periods in Buc history, ranked by total yards:
Season |
Games |
Yards |
Yds./Gm |
Yds./Rush |
|
1-5 |
924 |
184.8 |
4.26 |
|
11-15 |
834 |
166.8 |
5.09 |
|
10-14 |
803 |
160.6 |
4.75 |
|
6-10 |
780 |
156.0 |
5.23 |
|
4-8 |
767 |
153.4 |
4.95 |
|
8-12 |
765 |
153.0 |
4.40 |
|
11-15 |
761 |
152.2 |
4.40 |
|
12-16 |
753 |
150.6 |
3.92 |
|
1-5 |
752 |
150.4 |
4.59 |
Roughly 33% of the Bucs' 385 yards of offense against the Giants was gained on two plays, a 68-yard reception by Mike Evans in the first quarter and a 59-yard run by Charles Sims in the fourth quarter. Those were career-long plays for both second-year players, and Evans' catch-and-run was also a career-long completion for Jameis Winston. Getting both plays in the same game proved to be a rare feat for a Buccaneers' offense.
In fact, that marks the first time since 2012 and just the third time in team history that the Buccaneers have had at least one completion of 50 or more yards and at least one run of 50 or more yards. Here are all three occasions:
Opp., Date |
Run |
Completion(s) |
CHI, 11/1/81 |
59, Jerry Eckwood |
81t, Doug Williams-Jimmie Giles; 51t, Williams-Kevin House |
@OAK, 11/4/12 |
70t, 67t, Doug Martin |
64, Josh Freeman-Vincent Jackson |
NYG, 11/8/15 |
59, Charles Sims |
68, Jameis Winston-Mike Evans |
Both of those long plays on Sunday occurred on first-down plays, as the Buccaneers continue to excel in that regard. In fact, with 6.61 yards per first-down play so far this season, Tampa Bay ranks second in the entire NFL to Arizona's 6.71.
**
Jameis Winston completed 19 of 36 passes for 249 yards and was not intercepted for the fourth straight game. Including his last nine attempts of the Week Four contest against Carolina, Winston has thrown 120 straight passes without being picked off. While that is still a good bit shy of Jeff Garcia's team record of 197 during the 2007 season, it does have him on the verge of surpassing the team's rookie record. Mike Glennon set that mark with 139 straight interception-free tosses during the 2013 campaign.
Rookie or veteran, a four-game run without an interception is an impressive feat. Winston is one of only five passers in the league who have accomplished the feat this year, and one of only two with an active streak of at least four games. Here are the five NFL quarterbacks with interception-free streaks of four or more games in 2015 (minimum of 10 pass attempts in each game):
Quarterback |
Tm |
Games |
Dates |
Comp. |
Att. |
Yds. |
TD |
Alex Smith |
KC |
5* |
10/4 - 11/1 |
108 |
170 |
1245 |
5 |
Jameis Winston |
TB |
4* |
10/11 - 11/8 |
69 |
113 |
932 |
4 |
Colin Kaepernick |
SF |
4 |
10/11 - 11/1 |
72 |
127 |
888 |
4 |
Tom Brady |
NE |
4 |
9/10 - 10/11 |
116 |
160 |
1387 |
11 |
Aaron Rodgers |
GB |
4 |
9/13 - 10/4 |
89 |
123 |
995 |
11 |
* Active streak
Winston's 249 passing yards on the season upped his season total to 1,897. At the halfway point, that's a 3,794-yard pace that would rank as the third-highest single-season total in franchise history, behind Josh Freeman's 4,065 in 2012 and Brad Johnson's 3,811 in 2003. Obviously, it would be the top total for a rookie in team history; in fact, Winston is closing in on that record already. Here are the top five passing-yardage totals by a rookiein Buccaneer annals:
Player |
Season |
Yards |
1. Mike Glennon |
2013 |
2,608 |
2. Jameis Winston |
2015 |
1,897 |
3. Josh Freeman |
2009 |
1,855 |
|
2006 |
1,661 |
5. Doug Williams |
1978 |
1,170 |
Winston's 249 passing yards marked the seventh time in eight career starts that he has surpassed 200 yards. The lone exception was a 177-yard outing in the Buccaneers' overtime win at Atlanta in Week Eight. Even lowering the mark to 175 yards per game, Winston is still on one of the better streaks for a Buccaneer quarterback in some time. His streak of eight such games is the longest by a Buc since Josh Freeman ran off 14 straight games covering the end of 2012 and the 2013 season opener (Sept. 30, 2012 vs. Washington to Sept. 8, 2013 at the Jets).
Winston also scored the Buccaneers' only touchdown of the day on an impressive scramble and dive in the fourth quarter. That's already the third rushing touchdown of the season for the rookie passer, the sixth-most by a QB in a single season in team annals.
**
Winston threw a little more than half of his passes in the direction of Mike Evans, targeting him 19 times. That resulted in eight catches for 152 yards, marking the sixth time in just 22 career games that the second-year receiver has topped 100 yards. Evans is already tied for eighth in team history in 100-yard receiving games in the regular season:
100-Yard Receiving Games, Career, Buccaneers
Player, Seasons |
100-yd. Gms. |
Total Gms. |
|
15 |
88 |
2. WR Kevin House, 1980-85 |
14 |
94 |
3. WR Vincent Jackson, 2012-15 |
13 |
54 |
4t. WR Joey Galloway 2005-07 |
11 |
66 |
4t. WR Keyshawn Johnson, 2000-03 |
11 |
57 |
6t. WR Antonio Bryant, 2008-09 |
7 |
29 |
6t. TE Jimmie Giles, 1978-86 |
7 |
121 |
8t. WR Mike Evans, 2014-15 |
6 |
22 |
|
6 |
30 |
|
5 |
58 |
|
5 |
57 |
Evans rate of one 100-yard receiving performance for every 3.67 games he plays is the best in team history. His teammate, Vincent Jackson, ranks third in that regard, with his rate of one ever 4.15 games just behind Antonio Bryant's rate of one every 4.14 games.
Three of Evans' six 100-yard games, including the most recent one, also topped 150 yards. There have now been 23 individual 150-yard receiving games in franchise history, and Evans has as many of them than any other Buccaneer except his own teammate, Vincent Jackson. Jackson has had four 150-yard receiving games since joining the Buccaneers in 2012. Evans' three such performances are tied with Joey Galloway for second on the list. Mark Carrier, Kevin House and Bruce Hill all appear on the list twice.
With 538 yards at the season's halfway point, Evans is on pace to get to 1,076 on the season, which would be just a bit more than the 1,051 he put up as a rookie in 2014. If he can hit quadruple digits, Evans would be the first Buccaneer ever to begin his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Only three other Tampa Bay wide receivers have had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at any point in their careers, and all three were free agent or trade acquisitions. Joey Galloway did it for three straight years from 2005-07, and Jackson has an active run of three straight (2012-14) as well. Keyshawn Johnson put up two 1,000-yard seasons in a row in 2001 and 2002.
**
Halfway through their 16-game schedule, the Buccaneers' offense has produced 2,858 yards and 181 points. Neither of those numbers puts the 2015 team on pace to break the franchise's single-season records in those categories, but it is close, as is the case for a number of other offensive statistics. Below is a list of handful of statistical categories for the Buccaneers' offense, showing the team's first-half totals, the pace it has set for a full season and the franchise's single-season record for each one for comparison. The final column is where this season's projected total would rank on the all-time list:
Category |
Total |
Proj. |
Record |
Year |
Rank |
Total Yards |
2,858 |
5,716 |
5,820 |
2012 |
2nd |
Points Scored |
181 |
362 |
389 |
2012 |
3rd |
Yards Per Play |
5.76 |
5.76 |
5.61 |
2010 |
1st |
Field Goals Made |
19 |
38 |
32 |
2008 |
1st |
First Downs |
154 |
308 |
344 |
1984 |
2nd |
Rushing Yards |
1,055 |
2,110 |
2,437 |
1979 |
3rd |
Yards Per Carry |
4.47 |
4.47 |
4.64 |
2010 |
2nd |
Yards Per Pass Att. |
7.71 |
7.71 |
7.54 |
1981 |
1st |
**
The Buccaneers are not currently on pace to break their team record for best third-down conversion rate in a season, as their 2015 mark of 39.0 wouldn't even rank in the top five. However, if the 2015 squad continues at the pace at which it has converted third downs over the last five games, it might eventually threaten the team record of 42.9% set in 1984. The last Buccaneer team to convert over 40% of its third downs was the 2010 squad, which was good on 42.2% of its tries.
Over the last five games, the Buccaneers' offense has moved the chains on almost exactly half of its third-down tries. The Bucs have succeeded on 32 of 65 attempts (49.2%) in that span, gradually pushing their season mark towards 40% after starting the season nine of 40 (22.5%) on third downs in the first three games. Furthermore, the team has been steadily successful from week to week, with a success rate falling between 45.5% and 58.3% in each of those five contests.
Statspass tracks third-down data back through the 1991 season, and this is the first time in those 25 seasons that the Buccaneers have been over 45% successful on third-down attempts for five straight games. The fifth straight game on Sunday against the Giants broke a tie with a four-game stretch of at least that much success on third downs during the 2006 season.
Winston and the Buccaneers' offense also continued an interesting recent trend of improving significantly on third down tries after halftime. Overall this season, the Buccaneers are succeeding on 35.6% of their tries in the first half and 41.7% in the second half, but the difference is much bigger when one considers just the last four games. In that span, the averages are 33.3% in the first half and 58.1% in the second half. In three of those four games, Tampa Bay's offense has been 25.0% successful or worse before halftime and 57.1% successful or better after the break.
**
K Connor Barth accounted for two thirds of the Bucs' scoring on Sunday against the Giants by making four of five field goal attempts, including a 53-yarder in the third quarter. Barth did miss a field goal try for the first time since returning to the Buccaneers in Week Five, but he is still 13 of 14 overall and he's still the most accurate kicker in Buccaneer history:
Top Field Goal Percentage, Career, Buccaneers (minimum 25 atts.):
Kicker |
Seasons |
FGM |
FGA |
Pct. |
|
2009-13, 15 |
104 |
122 |
85.25% |
|
2005-08 |
98 |
118 |
83.05% |
|
1990-91 |
38 |
47 |
80.85% |
|
2013 |
23 |
29 |
79.31% |
|
1999-04 |
137 |
179 |
76.54% |
Before his 4-5 performance on Sunday, Barth had attempted and made exactly three field goal tries in each of his first three games of the season. Those three games made him the first kicker in franchise history to make at least three field goals in three consecutive games without missing a single kick.*Even with his one miss against the Giants, Barth made itfour straight games with at least three field goals made*, and he is the first kicker in franchise history to do that.
Barth has also made all eight of his extra point attempts since returning to the team, helping him put up single-game point totals of 12, 12, 11 and 12 in those four outings. That makes Barth the first player in team history, kicker or not, to score double-digit points in four consecutive games.
Barth's total of 47 points in his four games with the Buccaneers is an average of 11.8 points per contest. He is leading the NFL in points per gamesince returning in Week Five. Here are the top five during that span:
Player |
Team |
Games |
Pts. |
Pts./Game |
|
TB |
4 |
47 |
11.8 |
|
MIN |
4 |
44 |
11.0 |
|
PHI |
4 |
43 |
10.8 |
|
NE |
5 |
53 |
10.6 |
|
DEN |
4 |
39 |
9.8 |
Including time spent with the Chiefs and Broncos, Barth is 129 of 150 on his career, for a success rate of 86.0%. Since the start of the 2011 season, he has been the third most accurate field goal kicker in the NFL. Here are the top five:
Kicker |
Team |
Made |
Att. |
Pct. |
Dan Bailey |
DAL |
130 |
143 |
90.9% |
Stephen Gostkowski |
NE |
149 |
165 |
90.3% |
Connor Barth |
TB, DEN |
82 |
91 |
90.1% |
Justin Tucker |
BAL |
116 |
130 |
89.2% |
Matt Bryant |
ATL |
127 |
143 |
88.8% |
Barth also remains one of only five active kickers who have made all of their career extra point tries. Bailey and Tucker are also on that list, as are Ryan Succop and Nick Folk.
**
Sterling Moore and Alterraun Verner each secured interceptions off Eli Manning in Sunday's game, making it 15 consecutive games in which Tampa Bay's defense has collected at least one takeaway. That's the longest active streak for any team in the NFL. It's also tied for the Bucs' own best string since the 2007-08 seasons (vs. Arizona on Nov. 4, 2007 – vs. Seattle on Oct. 19, 2008).
Overall, the Buccaneers have 15 takeaways on the season, which is tied for the seventh-best mark in the league (pending Monday night's game between San Diego and Chicago). Here are the league leaders by team in that category:
1. N.Y. Giants: 21
2. Philadelphia: 20
3. N.Y. Jets: 19
4. Carolina: 18
5t. Arizona: 17
5t. Denver: 17
7t. Tampa Bay: 15
7t. Pittsburgh: 15
9t. Atlanta Falcons: 14
9t. Oakland Raiders: 14
9t. St. Louis Rams: 14
**
Jameis Winston's 19-of-36 passing performance against the Giants came on a day in which he was not sacked for just the second time this season. Meanwhile, New York's Eli Manning dropped back 40 times and also did not suffer a sack. That marks the first time in four years that neither side recorded a sack during a Buccaneers game. That last occurred in a 26-20 win against New Orleans at Raymond James Stadium on Oct. 16, 2011.
There have been 15 games in Buccaneer history in which neither team recording a sack. The Bucs are 8-7 in those games, though they've lost six of the last nine. The combined 76 drop-backs by Winston and Manning are tied for the third-most ever in a Buccaneers game that did not include at least one sack. Here are the top five:
Opp., Date |
Quarterbacks (TB, Opp.) |
DB* |
Outcome |
|
Josh Freeman, Drew Brees |
86 |
W, 26-20 |
2t. NYG, 11/8/15 |
Jameis Winston, Eli Manning |
76 |
L, 32-18 |
2t. SD, 1/2/94 |
Craig Erickson, Stan Humphries |
76 |
L, 32-17 |
|
Steve DeBerg, Dan Marino |
71 |
L, 41-38 |
|
Doug Williams, Lynn Dickey |
68 |
W, 20-17 |
* Combined QB drop-backs.