Winston doing things Brady needed years to accomplish

Jameis Winston is the next Tom Brady.

The 21-year-old rookie threw five touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 45-17 victory over Philadelphia. Brady didn’t have a performance like that until his eighth season in the NFL.

Winston had four TDs in the first half and connected with five different receivers in the end zone. He made all the right reads and threw precise passes.

He also did it against a team that’s reeling and a secondary that’s been picked apart quite often in three seasons under defensive coordinator Bill Davis.

So before you compare Winston to Tommy Terrific, consider the opponent. Winston certainly looks like a franchise quarterback, but he has a long way to go before he’s in Brady’s stratosphere.

Here are other overreactions from Week 11:

OVERREACTION: It’s the battle of the unbeatens when the Cowboys host Carolina on Thanksgiving Day. Dallas is 3-0 with Tony Romo, 0-7 without him. The Panthers are 10-0.

REALISTIC REACTION: Much to the dismay of Cowboys fans, games played without Romo still count in the standings. But this might be the closest matchup between a 10-win and three-win team in history. Vegas thinks so. The Panthers are just 1-point favorites.

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OVERREACTION: Brock Osweiler deserves to start over Peyton Manning. Osweiler was impressive in Denver’s win at Chicago.

REALISTIC REACTION: It was his first career start. Let’s see how he plays against the Patriots.

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OVERREACTION: Jay Gruden has better hands than some receivers. Did you see Gruden make a one-handed grab of an errant pass on the Redskins sideline?

REALISTIC REACTION: He’s a coach. Period.

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OVERREACTION: Who needs Marshawn Lynch? Thomas Rawls ran for 209 yards to lead Seattle over San Francisco.

REALISTIC REACTION: A healthy Lynch is Beast Mode.

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OVERREACTION: The Eagles are finished. Consecutive home losses to Miami and Tampa Bay dropped Chip Kelly’s team to 4-6.

REALISTIC REACTION: They’re only one game behind the Giants in a mediocre NFC East, but they don’t seem capable of beating anyone.

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OVERREACTION: The Falcons won’t make the playoffs. They’re 1-4 after a 5-0 start.

REALISTIC REACTION: There aren’t many worthy playoff-caliber teams in the NFC and Atlanta has a one-game lead in the wild-card standings.

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OVERREACTION: The Colts should stick with Matt Hasselbeck. The 40-year-old backup improved to 3-0 by leading Indianapolis over Atlanta.

REALISTIC REACTION: When Andrew Luck returns from injury, he’s playing no matter what Hasselbeck does.

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OVERREACTION: No matter the color of his sweater, Rex Ryan will never beat Bill Belichick. Ryan fell to 0-2 with the Bills against the Patriots and Belichick.

REALISTIC REACTION: Ryan did beat Belichick four times in 13 games when he coached the Jets, and Brady can’t play forever.

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OVERREACTION: Even a referee’s inadvertent whistle can’t stop the Patriots. Despite having what could’ve been a 70-yard TD pass from Brady to Danny Amendola accidentally blown dead, the Patriots beat Buffalo 20-13 Monday night.

REALISTIC REACTION: If the Patriots secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage with a few games left, maybe Belichick rests some of his starters, including Brady.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi

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