Safety Antoine Winfield buckles up preparing for battle Sunday.
The last two minutes of today’s win in Atlanta was so stunning and thrilling, it’s easy to forget perhaps the play of the game happened with 11 seconds left and it was performed by All-Pro Bucs safety Antoine Winfield.
Figures. When the Bucs need a big play on defense, somewhere it seems, Winfield is involved.
And he very likely saved the game.
With 11 seconds left, Dixie Chicks quarterback Michael Penix tried to hit KhaDarel Hodge for the game-winning score. Penix threw a beautiful pass down the left sideline that Hodge, for a split second, appeared to catch.
But no! In the nick of time, Winfield roared in from the center of the field and blasted Hodge with a vicious hit in the chest.
Winfield’s hit was so physical, it jarred the ball out of Hodge’s hands, incomplete.
Down 23-20, Hodge, who for a split-second caught the ball on the Bucs-8, could have walked into the end zone. Hard to see the Bucs being able to get into field goal range in less than 11 seconds.
But that’s what Winfield does. He makes critical plays at the most important times. Winfield was a shell of himself after Week 1 last year when he hurt his foot near the end of a win over Washington.
With the exception of one play, Winfield wasn’t near the same as an All-Pro in 2023. The exception was a play in Tampa when he was robbed after jarring a touchdown away from Atlanta, only to have that play called a touchdown because the NFL/FOX were too cheap to put a sideline camera on the end zone. It was a clear fumble.
Damn, it’s good to see big-playmaking Winfield back. He literally saved the Bucs’ bacon today.
This punch out by Antoine Winfield Jr. was the difference in the game. pic.twitter.com/f1UnxLFmQV
— All-22 (@All22_PFF) September 7, 2025