A quarterback’s touchdown to interception ratio has long been used as a shorthand for his efficiency, although it’s a fairly limited stat because it overlooks what happens on the more than 90 percent of passes that are neither touchdowns nor interceptions. But we can have some fun with those stats by looking not at touchdowns divided by interceptions, but at touchdowns plus interceptions.
Adding touchdowns and interceptions is a good way to identify a quarterback who can keep both teams in the game. And on that metric, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston easily leads the league.
Winston has an NFL-high 23 interceptions, and his 26 touchdown passes are second in the NFL. With a total of 49 touchdowns plus interceptions, Winston easily leads the league. (Jimmy Garoppolo is second with 36.) On Sunday, Winston added to both totals with three touchdown passes and three interceptions in a 38-35 win over the Colts.
Winston will almost certainly finish the season with the most interceptions in the league (currently no one else is even within six interceptions of him), and he has a chance to lead the league in touchdown passes, too (he’s only two behind league leader Lamar Jackson). There’s not another quarterback in the league like Winston, who ensures that both the Buccaneers and their opponents will put points on the board.