Through the first nine games of his NFL career, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston had 10 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He increased the former by 50 percent Sunday, while the latter remained static, as Winston had a monster game in Tampa Bay's 45-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Fantasy football waiver wire advice: Jameis Winston throws all over Eagles
The rookie quarterback threw for five touchdowns Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Winston threw for only 246 yards Sunday (on 19-of-29 passing), but didn't need more than that, as his five touchdown passes gave the Buccaneers more than enough cushion. He connected for touchdowns with wide receivers Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson and Russell Shepard, tight end Cameron Brate and running back Charles Sims.
Fantasy impact: Winston had been very middling for fantasy as a rookie before Sunday. He hadn’t reached even 20 fantasy points in a game all season, but did have at least 12 in every game.
There’s something to be said for a reasonably high floor, but fantasy owners needed to see that Winston had a game like this in his repertoire before really investing. His 29 fantasy points on Sunday marked his best of the season by a full 10 points.
Winston is owned in 24 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues (as of Sunday night), and that number should rise. With the Buccaneers facing Indianapolis, Atlanta and New Orleans (two home games and one in a dome) the next three weeks, Winston could make for an interesting streamer.
That said, we’re past the byes, and running low on big-name quarterbacks who are out with injury, and there isn’t much left for Winston to stream for. He’s a justifiable start in a lot of instances, but probably more of a backup in most leagues.
