The Buccaneers didn’t come up with a dazzling offensive display against the Panthers on Thursday night, but the play of their defense meant they didn’t need to in order to leave Charlotte with a win.
All that they needed to do was keep the chains moving, put points on the board on occasion and not turn the ball over. The last part of that equation has been an issue over the course of quarterback Jameis Winston‘s career, but it wasn’t a problem in the 20-14 victory.
Winston was 16-of-25 for 208 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions a week after having a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns in a loss to the 49ers. After the game, head coach Bruce Arians had several complimentary things to say about his quarterback.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Arians said. “He had a hell of a week as far as mentally getting ready for this ballgame. I think that’s the type of game he can play, I didn’t think he played that bad last week, he had the one bad play, but tonight he was really spot on.”
The win ended a seven-game road losing streak for the Bucs and their defense has now allowed one touchdown through the first two games of the season. If that unit remains stingy while Winston takes care of the ball, another long losing streak should be an unlikely development in Tampa.