Getty Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jameis Winston has endured one hell of a season. A quick glimpse of his statistics, and the fact that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a chance to finish the season above .500, would make you wonder why he’s not discussed amongst the upper-echelon of signal-callers.
However, once you break down the tape and see the rash of boneheaded mistakes, littered by turnovers, you realize why Winston has become such an enigma.
Yet, true on-field success doesn’t always lead to fantasy football success, and vice versa. Can Winston muster up one more solid fantasy outing in Week 16, despite the loss of his top two receiving targets, to help his fantasy owners capture a league championship? Let’s discuss.
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Jameis Winston’s Fantasy Outlook vs. Houston Texans
Jameis Winston is a walking turnover machine. That much can not be debated. With two games to go, the former Heisman Trophy Winner has tossed 24 interceptions this season, the most by a quarterback in the NFL since 2013. His turnover woes don’t stop there, as he’s also lost five fumbles this season.
However, Winston owners will need to learn to differentiate between being a truly successful NFL starting quarterback and the capability of being a good enough fantasy option to help capture you a championship.
A prime example of this is Blake Bortles back in the 2015 season. We all know what has become of Bortles’ career. However, for one season, on a struggling 5-11 Jaguars team, Jacksonville aired the ball out more than all but five NFL teams that year. In return, Bortles racked up statistics, tossing 35 passing touchdowns, falling just one TD short of the league-lead, while also finishing the year as the fourth-leading scorer in fantasy for a player at his position that season.
Winston’s 2019 campaign is almost parallel to that of Bortles’ 2015 season, however, his is slightly better. No QB has attempted more passes and thrown for more yards than Winston this season. He’s also tossed the second-most TD passes in the league and currently ranks as the fourth-leading scorer at the QB position in fantasy this season.
Winston has scored more than 17.10 points in all but one game since Week 2. He’s also seen his fantasy production skyrocket over the last two weeks of play. Despite the loss of both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, Tampa Bay has refused to shy away from the pass, as Winston has gone back-to-back games with 455+ yards and four touchdowns.
The Houston Texans defense is one of the worst in all of football in terms of containing the QB position. Only two D/ST currently surrender more fantasy points on a per-game basis than the Texans do this season.
Since returning from their Week 10 bye, Houston has allowed an average of 24.26 fantasy points to opposing QBs, allowing all but one opponent to score at least 24.86 points.
Should You Start or Sit Jameis Winston in Week 16?
Winston leads the entire NFL in passing yards this season, and has averaged 457 passing yards and four touchdowns per game over the last two weeks. Over the last five weeks, the Texans have allowed four of their opposing QBs to register at least three total touchdowns each. They’ve also surrendered the third-most passing yards in football over the last three weeks.
Quite simply, Jameis Winston is an elite signal-caller in the realm of fantasy. It may not always look pretty, but it’ll get the job done, especially against the Texans. Start Winston on Saturday.
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