On Thursday, the NFL announced that Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December/January. Winfield Jr. is the first defensive back in franchise history to earn the honor and the eighth defensive player overall.
From Weeks 13-18, Winfield Jr. was a two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Week winner (Weeks 13, 18) for a Buccaneers team that went 5-1 over the final six weeks of the regular season. During that span, Winfield Jr. amassed 41 tackles (four for loss), 4.0 sacks, four passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Per Pro-Football-Reference data, Winfield Jr. is just the fifth player, and the first defensive back, since 2000 with 4.0+ sacks, three-or-more forced fumbles and multiple interceptions in a six-game span, joining T.J. Watt (2019), Jason Taylor (2006), Mike Vrabel (2003) and Simeon Rice (2003).
Winfield Jr. put forth a NFL Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season, amassing 122 tackles (six for loss), 12 passes defensed, eight quarterback hits, 6.0 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He finished the year with a share of the league lead in both forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, joining Haason Reddick (2022) as the only players to accomplish that feat since at least 2000.
Among defensive backs this season, Winfield Jr. finished first in sacks (6.0), first in forced fumbles (six), first in fumble recoveries (four), tied for third in takeaways (seven) and third in quarterback hits (eight). Winfield Jr. earned a 91.2 grade this season from Pro Football Focus, putting him as the league’s highest graded safety in 2023. He leads the NFL in most games with a takeaway and a sack this season, with four-such performances.
In an unprecedented 2023 campaign, Winfield Jr. is the lone player since data became available in 1999 with 100+ tackles, three-or-more interceptions, three-or-more forced fumbles, three-or-more fumble recoveries and 3.0+ sacks. He is also the lone defensive back since 2000 with 6.0+ sacks and six-or-more forced fumbles in a season, and the lone defensive back with seven-or-more takeaways and 5.0+ sacks. He is also just the fourth defensive back since 1982 with six-or-more games with a sack in a single season.
Winfield Jr. and the Buccaneers will battle the Eagles in the Wild Card game on Monday night.
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