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Bolts Defense Wary of Jameis Winston Ahead of Week 9

Oct 31, 2024 at 03:35 PM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

Jameis Winston certainly has the attention of the Chargers defense.

With Deshaun Watson out for the season with an Achilles injury, the Browns turned to Winston on Sunday as he led them to a thrilling 29-24 comeback win over the Ravens.

"Played a great game. Top-flight guy, top-flight quarterback," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday. "Always had a ton of respect for him."

"I don't know if the offense changed significantly, but he operated extremely moving the team, playing the game," Harbaugh later added. "Like I said, I've always been a fan of his game."

In Weeks 1 through 7 with Watson primarily under center, Cleveland's offense ranked 31^st in EPA per play (-0.220).

With Winston leading the charge in Week 8, the Browns were 14^th in EPA per play (0.086).

Watson didn't top the 200-yard mark in a game this season. Winston threw for 334 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Baltimore.

"He was just in rhythm. He's a trust himself, trust the offense type of quarterback," Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said. "He will let it rip, he's always been that way."

"He played on time, and when you do that and you're able to run the ball a little bit and mix in play action, you really help your offensive line, which they did," Minter added. "Those receivers made a lot of 1-on-1 catches against Baltimore."

Winston, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has been chucking the ball around the yard from the moment he came into the league.

Chargers rookie cornerback Cam Hart said this week that he's been watching Winston even further back than that.

"I've actually watched Jameis a lot, even when he was in college," Hart said. "He trusts his arm, he has a strong arm. He trusts his teammates.

"It's a lot of trust and camaraderie and I think that just leads to the trust he has in his teammates," Hart added. "He's mobile, he can move the pocket around. He's a good player, I got mad respect for Jameis."

Winston's average depth of target against the Ravens was 11.7 yards, meaning he wasn't afraid to push the ball downfield.

But Pro Football Focus also charted him at three turnover worthy plays, tied for the most among all quarterbacks in Week 8.

Sunday will mark the 100^th game of Winston's career. He has 145 career touchdown passes but has also thrown 99 interceptions, too.

The Chargers will be ready for Winston to test their secondary while also looking to hopefully get a turnover or two off of him.

"Famous Jameis," Khalil Mack said with a laugh. "Hell of a dude ... I know he's going to have those guys ready. It's always a challenge when you go against a guy like that. The mindset he's had and the player he's been since he came into the league, it's impressive."

Derwin James, Jr. added: "He adds a confidence. He's that leader, that alpha. He's going to get the guys to rally and they are going to play hard for him."