Winston completed 28 of 41 passes for 385 passes with four touchdowns and one interception in the Buccaneers' 55-40 win over the Rams on Sunday. He also lost a yard on his sole rush.
Taking on the unbeaten defending NFC champions on the road, Winston showed thorough mastery of coach Bruce Arians' offense for the first time, helping the Buccaneers produce a franchise-record point tally. The fifth-year gunslinger was nearly flawless for the majority of the contest, but the pick-six he threw to Marcus Peters in the fourth quarter helped keep the game's outcome in the balance for a while longer. That mistake aside, Winston constantly was a step ahead of coordinator Wade Phillips' defense, showing particular chemistry with Chris Godwin, who overcame a hip injury to connect with Winston for 12 completions, 172 yards and two touchdowns. Winston also showed a propensity for answering when the Rams drew closer, hitting Mike Evans on a perfectly executed stop-and-go route for a 67-yard score early in the fourth quarter to extend Tampa's lead to 45-27 at the time. Winston now has thrown for a combined 685 yards and seven touchdown passes over his last two games and will look to extend his stellar stretch of play in a divisional road showdown versus the Saints in Week 5.