Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense, defense primed at the right time

TAMPA, Fla. -- The stage is the largest the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played on this season -- a Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys, America's Team, with the best record in football before a national television audience and the playoffs at stake.

But quarterback Jameis Winston says he doesn't want to make the game seem bigger than it really is.

"Us, in this locker room, we feel like we already got that. We already feel like that we are big-time team," Winston said. "We are already confident that we want to make it to the playoffs. This is just another game to us that we have to win."

The Buccaneers have won five in a row and at 8-5 are tied for the NFC South lead with the Atlanta Falcons. If the playoffs began today, they would be the final NFC wild card.

But it has been the Tampa Bay defense -- not Winston and the offense -- that has sparked the turnaround. Since Week 10, the Buccaneers are the best in the NFL in points allowed per game (12.8), total takeaways (14, including a league-best 10 INTs), touchdowns allowed (six) and opposing passer rating (62.5).

Against the Saints, the Buccaneers held quarterback Drew Brees to without a touchdown for the first time in 22 games against them.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay offense has sputtered a bit, scoring nine touchdowns in the past five games. The Buccaneers haven't had a 100-yard rusher since Week 7 at San Francisco and receiver Mike Evans has been held to seven catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns in the past two games.

But isn't this why Winston is here, ready for his closeup, to win games like this one against the Cowboys?

"Sure. Beat good teams," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "And we have already. We went and beat the Chiefs. And that was a big game. It wasn't on national TV. He played well there.

"I don't know if I've been a huge believer in 'gamers.' I'm not sure there's a 'gamer.'

"But I do think there's players that the moment doesn't get too big for them. I do believe in that. I don't believe guys say, 'Oh boy, I raised my level of play.' I don't buy that. I just buy that the moment doesn't phase them one way or the other. And we can help that by playing well around him."

Winston is no stranger to the big stage, having won the Heisman Trophy and national championship as a redshirt freshman at Florida State.

Performing in games like Sunday's in Dallas is why the Buccaneers made him the No. 1 overall pick two years ago.

"Not to make the moment any bigger than it is, but when you play good opponents on a national stage, there's a lot of eyes watching," Monken said. "We know what we have. We have a really good football player that's only going to continue to get better. So we know that no matter how Sunday night turns out."