Jameis Winston Becomes 1st NFL QB with 30 TD, 30 INT on Game-Ending Pick-6

Paul KasabianSenior ContributorDecember 29, 2019

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) fires a pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston's game-ending pick-six Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons made him the first NFL player to toss at least 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.

NFL @NFL
DEION JONES. PICK-6 FOR THE WIN. #ATLvsTB https://t.co/8pKNOa0jHs

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
Jameis ends the 2019 season with a pick-six. He’s the first player ever with 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Incredible. @brgridiron https://t.co/I4CNHsjlQG

Falcons linebacker Deion Jones picked off Winston on Tampa's first play from scrimmage in overtime and returned the ball 28 yards for the game-winning score, giving Atlanta the 28-22 win.

The interception was Winston's seventh pick-six of the season. He finished with 33 touchdown passes and 30 picks.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN posted a notable statistic on Winston's pick-six history:

Bill Barnwell @billbarnwell
Jameis Winston’s first pass under his rookie contract with the Bucs was a pick-six. Jameis Winston’s last pass under his rookie contract with the Bucs was a pick-six.

Winston also threw "game-winning" pick-sixes to the opposing team in the first and last games of this season. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman's interception return for a touchdown proved to be the winning score in a 31-17 Week 1 victory over the Bucs.

Trevor Sikkema of the Pewter Report and Draft Network summed up Winston's year quite well:

Trevor Sikkema @TampaBayTre
For as long as the NFL exists, there will never be another year like the one Jameis Winston just had, in so many ways. Never. We witnessed history in the strangest way.

Ex-NFL safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark also provided his take on Winston, who is never boring:

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Ryan Clark @Realrclark25
I LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE Jameis Winston!! Way to Jameis your season to an end. 30 for 30 here we go. Finish 2019 with a pick 6, for his 30th ok the year. This dude is pure excitement. You can’t quit him.

Other Winston stats are simply remarkable, as he also found himself in excellent company in the passing yardage category, per Bucs senior editor/writer Scott Smith:

Scott Smith @ScottSBucs
Jameis Winston is now just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, joining Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger. Brees has done it five times.

Winston ended his year on a historical note, but the question now is what the Bucs decide to do with the quarterback set to become a free agent.

Tampa Bay's options are franchising him, letting him walk or signing him to a long-term deal.

When asked what the pick-six meant in regards to Winston's chances of staying, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said the following:

JennaLaineESPN @JennaLaineESPN
When asked how Jameis Winston’s pick-six impacts his evaluation, Bruce Arians said, “It doesn’t help.”

Scott Smith @ScottSBucs
Bruce Arians says “there’s so much good and so much outright terrible” in terms of evaluating Jameis Winston and the future.

Arians is understandably unhappy with the results, but there's no denying that Winston's 2019 was one of the more entertaining individual seasons in recent NFL history.