Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has been a thorn in the Falcons’ side.
Winston, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft, has a losing NFL record (9-14) early in his career, but he’s 3-0 against the Falcons.
Winston and the Buccaneers (3-4) are set to host the Falcons (5-3) at 8:25 p.m. Thursday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
The Falcons, working on a short week and coming off a thrilling last-minute victory over Green Bay on Sunday, believe they have a three-point plan to beat Winston, a Heisman Trophy winner who won a national championship at Florida State.
The Falcons, who hope to extend their 1 1/2-game lead in the NFC South standings, plan to limit their turnovers, defend Winston’s deep passes and match his hard-charging competitive spirit.
What makes Winston so tough for the Falcons?
“Just his confidence and his competitiveness,” Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “He’s not scared of the moment. He’s ready to step up and make those big throws. In the secondary, we have to be ready for that because we know he’s going to challenge us.”
Winston is listed at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds and is not afraid to run the ball, if necessary.
“One thing that jumps out when you watch him play is that he’s a terrific competitor,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “It shows on where he can extend plays, how he can convert a play where he seems like he’s hemmed up, and then all of a sudden he breaks a tackle and escapes out.”
Winston has beaten the Falcons in a variety of ways.
In the first meeting in 2015, the Bucs used four turnovers to craft a 20-3 lead. The Falcons rallied to tie the score and force overtime, but couldn’t match the Bucs’ field goal and lost 23-20 at the Georgia Dome. Winston completed 16 of 29 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the win.
In the second meeting last season, the Falcons held a 19-16 lead in the fourth quarter and appeared to have the Bucs stopped. But on third-and-19 from the Falcons 43, Winston broke six tackles on a wild 20-yard run to pick up a key first down. Six plays later, he tossed the game-winning touchdown pass to Mike Evans.
The Falcons had 1:39 left to try to regain the lead, but on first down, quarterback Matt Ryan tossed an interception to Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David to end the game.
In the season opener Sept. 11, Winston tossed touchdown passes of 30 and 45 yards to help open a 31-13 third-quarter lead. The Bucs held on for a 31-24 victory. The Falcons committed seven penalties for 74 yards, and running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman were held to a season-low 42 yards on 19 carries.
“You’ve seen him just throw some dimes outside on the run for touchdowns, so I think it’s his competitive spirit that he plays with that kind of energizes everybody else around him,” Quinn said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for his toughness. You see him stand in there; he’ll take the hit, stare right down at it, and make the throw. He’s got a lot of confidence in his receivers. He’s going to give them a shot at the ball.”
The Falcons believe winning the turnover battle will help their chances. By taking the ball away, they’ll limit Winston’s time on the field and give Ryan more opportunities to put up points.
“For us, it’s really been about the ball,” Quinn said. “We haven’t done as good a job as we can and that’s a real area of emphasis for us.”
The Falcons haven’t been able to mount much pressure on Winston and will play without veteran Dwight Freeney. In their Sunday outing against Green Bay, the Falcons had three timely third-down sacks.
“We are all coming along,” said defensive end Vic Beasley, who leads the Falcons with 7.5 sacks. “We understand the task at hand. We have to get the quarterback off the spot. When we do that, it helps the secondary.”
If Winston hits one of his deep passes on the Falcons, they have a plan.
“We are continuing to grow and continuing to learn,” rookie safety Keanu Neal said. “One thing we’ve learned is how to handle adversity. It’s always is going to hit, bad things are going to happen. But how we bounce back from it is a testimony to what we can do.”
Rookie linebacker De’Vondre Campbell made his NFL debut against Winston. It didn’t take long for the Bucs to try to attack him in coverage against a tight end.
“I don’t think anything they did was out of the ordinary,” Campbell said. “They did everything that we expected them to do. So, we kind of have a similar game plan going into this week.
“We know Jameis is going to try to fit balls into tight places. We really just have to capitalize on opportunities when we get the chance.”
About the Author
