PHILADELPHIA -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense totaled a mammoth 521 yards Sunday, but the biggest number to come out of their 45-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles was this: 5-5.
The Buccaneers have won consecutive games for the first time since 2013 and reached the elusive .500 mark. With six games remaining, this team appears to be on the right track.
"We've talked a lot about being relevant again," Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. "We're relevant again."
Quarterback Jameis Winston threw five touchdowns to five different players and tied the NFL record for scoring passes in a single game by a rookie. He finished 19-for-29 for 246 yards with a passer rating of 131.6.
"Thank you, offensive line," Winston said. "I couldn't do it without those guys out there fighting."
The Bucs led 28-14 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that included four Tampa Bay penalties but still resulted in a touchdown pass from Winston to tight end Cameron Brate.
"The opening drive of the third quarter, you just see how good our team can be," Winston said. "You see how we just kept overcoming adversity. Last game before that, we had a penalty and we were like, 'Oh, man. We've got to move back.' But we overcame adversity. We had big guys step up when we needed them to step up and we persevered."
Along with Winston, running back Doug Martin was also sensational against the Eagles. He rushed for 235 yards on 27 carries, the second-most all-time rushing yards against the Eagles. Emmitt Smith had 237 yards for the Dallas Cowboys in '93, and Jim Brown recorded 237 for the Cleveland Browns in '61.
If Martin can continue to pile up yardage like this, the Buccaneers will be difficult to beat down the stretch.
"I do not know about waiting for a game like this," Martin said. "I just let the plays come to me. My thing is when you come into a game thinking about stats -- 'I have to get these stats, get these touchdowns' -- then you force things, and you just cannot naturally flow with the game. In this game, I just came in and just did my job like I wanted to."
The result was a fifth win for a team that started slow but has since begun to jell.
"It feels good," Martin said. "I think that everyone on this team truly believes in themselves that we can get there. That is something we did not have, but this coaching staff has instilled a culture that is helping us get to where we want to be."
For now, that goal is winning another game next Sunday in Indianapolis and extending the streak. From there, it's uncharted territory.
"There's a lot of football left to go," Smith said. "All of our goals we set at the start of the season are there for us. ... [Before] this week, of course, we hadn't won two games in a row, and we hadn't won three in a row in a long time. Three in a row is where we're trying to get this done this week."