Antoine Winfield Jr. is the reason the Bucs beat the Falcons in Week 1 yet not many people are talking about it

There's an extra catch here (no pun intended): Even if Washington makes the catch and Winfield Jr. brings him down inside the five-yard line, there's a chance the Falcons can still run one more play to try and score a touchdown. They'd likely just kick the field goal, but being so close to the end zone would allow them to take a quick snap and then just chuck it through the back of the end zone if Michael Penix Jr. didn't like what he saw.

There's also the idea that a completion leads to a spike and then a much, much closer field goal attempt that Younghue Koo likely makes. That would've sent the game into overtime and as we saw last year in Atlanta - it could've ended in any fashion.

Either way, Winfield Jr. saved the day, plain and simple. And he's not getting anywhere near the credit he deserves.

This isn't the first time Antoine Winfield Jr. has saved the Bucs in a tight spot

In the 2023 finale with the Bucs needing a win to get into the playoffs, Winfield Jr. made not one, but two plays that directly contributed to a Tampa Bay win over the Carolina Panthers. The Bucs finished the year 9-8 and thanks to tiebreaker scenarios, won the NFC South over the New Orleans Saints, who also finished 9-8.

Winfield Jr. made an incredible strip of Panthers wideout D.J. Chark near the goal line, which resulted in the ball bouncing through the back of the end zone and landing in the Bucs' laps for a touchback. The Buccaneers won the game 9-0, but that play would've put the Panthers up 7-0 at the time and then Winfield Jr. later sacked Bryce Young on a 3rd and 5 at the Bucs' 25 that forced Carolina in to a 52-yard field goal attempt that then-kicker Matthew Wright missed.

Winfield Jr.'s heroics directly contributed to 10 points off the board and won that game for the Bucs. They can squarely thank him for getting the team into the playoffs that year. Without him, the Saints get in, instead.

Winfield Jr. finished the game with just four tackles and the pass breakup, which is a very quite game for his standards. However, that PBU speaks volumes and the Bucs wouldn't be 1-0 without it.

When the Bucs needed him to step up, he did, and that's why he's not only one of Tampa Bay's best players - he's one of the NFL's best.