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About the Author: Zach Shapiro

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Zach is entering his 3rd year covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a writer for PewterReport.com. Since 2014, he's handled a large part of the beat reporting responsibilities at PR, attending all media gatherings and publishing and promoting content daily. Zach is a native of Sarasota, FL, and a graduate of the University of Tampa. He has also covered high school football for the Tampa Tribune and the NFL for Pro Player Insiders. Contact him at: [email protected]
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The Bucs improve to .500 on the season with perhaps their biggest win in five years, taking out the now 7-3 Chiefs in hostile Arrowhead Stadium – something the last 10 opponents have failed to do in Kansas City.

The 19-17 win was a story of third-down efficiency on offense (11-of-16) and two critical stops inside the red zone on defense, with nearly every player contributing in some form to earn the signature victory. While there were unsung stars and moments of great effort – Doug Martin, for example, turned a few negative runs into positive yards – here are the list of standouts, according to PewterReport.com, in this week’s Most Impressive List.

QB JAMEIS WINSTON
The crowd’s war chant was for the Chiefs, to be sure, but it must have made Winston feel more at home. The second-year quarterback was calm and collected from beginning to end, throwing for 331 yards and a late touchdown in one of his best performances as a pro. Winston’s 11 third-down conversion-completions, including on the Bucs lone TD and in the final two minutes to Mike Evans to ice the game, tells the whole story. He found seven different receivers on another day without an interception.

S CHRIS CONTE
If last week’s interception set the tone early, this one served as the turning point in a close battle. With the Chiefs on the 6-yard line and poised to take a five-point lead, Conte stepped in front of Alex Smith’s pass to the end zone and brought it out 53 yards into opponent’s territory. The Bucs offense scored its only touchdown nine plays later, underscoring how critical takeaways are in tight game. It should be noted that Conte also forced Travis Kelce out of bounds two plays earlier to save a touchdown and give the defense an opportunity to keep Kansas City out of the end zone. The safety finished with six tackles, second most on the team.

WR MIKE EVANS
It was another big day for Mike Evans, who hauled in six receptions for 105 yards Sunday, including the game-icing conversion at the two-minute warning. Evans also had catches of 23 and 31 yards in the first half, both of which helped to set up field goals.

WRs CECIL SHORTS, RUSSELL SHEPARD and ADAM HUMRPHIES
They were the “third-down” trio on Sunday, as all three receivers had two catches each to move the chains. Winston was sharp and firing passes over the middle all afternoon, and Shorts, Shepard and Humphries came through for their quarterback. They finished with 62, 54 and 47 yards, respectively. All three had longs of 19 yards.

DE NOAH SPENCE
Once deemed a “designated pass rusher,” or DPR, Spence has steadily progressed and earned himself more playing time. On Sunday the rookie came up with a third-down stuff in the second quarter that forced a punt and finished with four tackles. The Tampa Bay defensive line didn’t record a sack, yet still performed relatively well against a Chiefs offense that features mostly short and quick passes.

K ROBERTO AGUAYO
Yes, all four field goals – from 31, 22, 41 and 36 yards out – are expected from an NFL kicker, but Sunday was unmistakably impressive for Aguayo. Not only was he perfect in sub-50 degree weather, unfamiliar conditions for the Florida native, but he also hit a crucial PAT to ensure a two-score game in the final minutes. Given there were 11 missed extra points around the league Sunday, that’s a bigger kick than it may seem. Aguayo, now 13-of-18 on FGs on the year, has made seven in a row.

CB ALTERRAUN VERNER
After Brent Grimes suffered a quad injury in the first quarter, Verner entered the game and filled in admirably for the most part. Other than a 42-yard pass from Smith to Tyreek Hill before half, Verner held his own and broke up a couple third-down passes. For his first time seeing significant snaps on defense since Week 2, the seventh-year pro turned in a solid outing for Tamp Bay, helping to hold anyone not named Travis Kelce to less than 60 yards receiving.

Honorable Mention: TE Cameron Brate (both catches on third down), Pass Protection (no sacks on Winston) and RB Doug Martin (turned negative yards into positive gains numerous times and blitz pickup on Evans’ 31-yard catch).

Bucs Pick Up Huge Win In Kansas City, 19-17
PewterReport.com’s Most Disappointing: Buccaneers vs. Chiefs
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