Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Studs and duds vs. Falcons in Week 17

Stud: Shaq Barrett (6 tackles, 3 sacks)

The fact that Licht was able to sign Shaq Barrett for just a one-year, $4.5 million deal in the offseason is criminal. Heck, the fact that the Broncos let him leave is crazy. They must have known what they had on their hands right? Well, apparently not.

Barrett added three more sacks on Sunday to break Hall-of-Famer Warren Sapp’s team record of 16.5. He blew by the record, notching 19.5 sacks on the year. He led the NFL in sacks and was elected to his first Pro Bowl. The future is immensely bright for Barrett, who is in his prime.

Look for Licht to do whatever it takes to lock him up long term this offseason, especially with the third-highest total in cap room coming up.

Dud: Jameis Winston (13-of-24, 201 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs)

After the first half, I was sure that Winston was going to be a stud. I really was. He played smart, efficient football and only had one bad mistake, which was an interception by Falcons safety Ricardo Allen. In fact, it can be argued that pick wasn’t entirely his fault as it looked like Watson ran the wrong route.

However, the second half was arguably Jameis Winston’s worst half of football this season. He simply couldn’t get anything going as RoJo was left to carry the offense. Then came the game-sealing interception to Deion Jones. He looked at Brate all the way, leading Jones right to the ball.

This is Winston’s fifth season in the league. There’s no way he should be making mistakes like that. Yet, he does time and again. That’s the reason why he is the first quarterback in league history to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a season. That is an unreal stat and it might not happen again. Yet, with Winston, anything is possible.

During this coming offseason, Bucs management must do all that they can to move on from Winston. As long as he is the starting quarterback for this team, they will never win another Lombardi Trophy. It’s time for a change. Good thing 2020 is the start of a new decade, right?