Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is set to return to the starting lineup against the Falcons in a big NFC South game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Winston came off the bench in the 48-10 loss to the Bears after serving his three-game suspension under the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. The suspension stemmed from a female Uber driver, who accused him of groping her in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March 2016.
Winston completed 16 of 20 passes for 145 yards and two interceptions in his return.
While Ryan Fitzpatrick got off to a hot start, the Bucs are expecting big things from Winston.
"He's the same guy," Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said. "Jameis has always been really good with how he approaches things mentally. I mean Jameis is the first guy here in the morning and the last guy to leave at night. Since he came in as a rookie, he's always has been extremely well-prepared."
Winston completed 27 of 35 passes (77.1 percent) for 299 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the last meeting, a 24-21 loss to the Falcons on Dec. 18, 2017. He finished with a passer rating of 130.5.
In five games against the Falcons, Winston has 12 touchdown passes, two interceptions and a 110 passer rating. He has a passer rating of 100-plus in two of his past three NFC South games.
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“Every time I play Atlanta, I just imagine growing up in Bessemer, Ala., being an hour away from Atlanta, seeing Michael Vick running around (doing) his thing,” Winston said. “It’s always been a dream to compete against Atlanta and win against Atlanta.
“Definitely going back to Atlanta is like a home game for me. That’s how I view it because all my family, they come up. They show up and hopefully I’ll show out for them.”
The Falcons respect Winston’s ability to extend plays and didn’t notice any rust from the suspension.
“He’s the same player that he always been,” linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said.
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