There's no denying it. We know who Jameis Winston is. Thomas Bassinger, Tampa Bay Times, published 30 December 2019 Things we learned from the Buccaneers' 2019 season and a look ahead to 2020: 1. We don't need to hire Robert Mueller to help us figure out who Jameis Winston is. We already know. He's not unpredictable; he's entirely predictable. He'll fire a 30-yard pass over the middle through the tightest of windows. Then he'll throw an interception. A recent Pro Football Focus analysis concluded that we're not likely to see the dominant season we've been waiting for from the former No. 1 overall draft pick and that there's little room for him to change. The only remaining question is this: Do the Bucs accept reality or continue to deny it? 2. Thank goodness for the Cleveland Browns. They came into the season with hopes of snapping their 16-season playoff drought, the NFL's longest active streak. That didn't happen, which means they held off the Bucs (12 seasons without a playoff appearance) to remain the league's standard bearers for dysfunction and futility. 3. The Bucs, finally, have a defense. On Sunday, rookie linebacker Devin White scooped up a Matt Ryan fumble forced by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown, Tampa Bay's sixth fumble or interception return for a touchdown of the season and its most since 2002, the season it won the Super Bowl. “We got a great player and someone that should be in the Pro Bowl for years to come,” coach Bruce Arians said of White. 4. More accolades for the defense: Shaquil Barrett is the best Bucs free-agent signing since at least receiver Vincent Jackson in 2012 and arguably since defensive end Simeon Rice in 2001. Granted, they only signed Barrett to a one-year deal, but what an incredible year it was. On Sunday, the edge rusher recorded three sacks, passing Warren Sapp and establishing a new team record of 19.5. Guess here is that he returns to Tampa next season. 5. It'll be difficult for the Bucs defense to sustain this level of play. Significant turnover is inevitable. Among the players who are eligible for free agency: Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, Carl Nassib and Kevin Minter. 6. Something else Tampa Bay discovered this season: a new tradition. During a commercial break during the fourth quarter, the Bucs played the Backstreet Boys' 1999 hit I Want It That Way. The crowd was into it. I Want It That Way is Tampa's Sweet Caroline, and that's a good thing. It's a better song and not nearly as pervy. 7. Still a problem: kicker. Fifth-round draft pick Matt Gay missed three field goals Sunday, bringing his missed-kick total to 13, second to only 47-year-old Adam Vinatieri. 8. Can't blame this loss on Tampa Bay's run game. The Bucs rushed for 136 yards (second-highest total this season) on 21 carries (an average of 6.5 yards). Ronald Jones led the way with a career-high 106 yards, which also was the most by any Tampa Bay running back this season. 9. The lasting image of the Bucs' 2019 season will be Falcons linebacker Deion Jones' walkoff pick-six. "An overtime loss, giving the ball away for a touchdown," Arians said. "I can't think of anything worse." For a time, it will overshadow what was a strong second half for Tampa Bay, which won five of its final eight games. Is the second-half improvement definitive proof of a turnaround? No. In the Bucs' first eight games, they were outscored by 22 points. In their final eight games, they outscored opponents by 31 points. That's a point differential swing of 53, the 12th-largest swing in team history. More often than not, however, such an improvement hasn't carried over to the next season. In the previous 11 occasions in which Tampa Bay saw a point differential swing of 50 or more, it failed to post a winning record the next season eight times. 10. The consolation prize: The Bucs came into Sunday in position to pick 17th in April's draft. Because of their loss to the Falcons, they moved up to 14th.