Winston sharp as Bucs roll
2nd-year starting QB picks apart Browns
TAMPA — Maybe all it took was the no-huddle and all-befuddle offense.
Needing a fast start in the final preseason game for Bucs starters, quarterback Jameis Winston took control of the offense at the line of scrimmage Friday night against the Browns, and calm returned amid the chaos.
Orchestrating an up-tempo attack, changing plays and directing traffic at times on the run, Winston carved up the Browns in the first half. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns to build a 24-point lead en route to a 30-13 victory.
The electricity wasn’t coming just from the giant videoboards that lit up Raymond James Stadium like Times Square.
Make no mistake, Winston needed a game like this, and he knew it. The Bucs needed it, too.
Though only an appetizer, it was plenty tasty enough to last until Dirk Koetter’s team opens the regular season in Atlanta on Sept. 11.
Remember when Winston was sacked and lost a fumble on the first series in Philadelphia in the preseason opener? When he missed his first six passes, including an interception that bounced off the hands of tight end Cameron Brate, to start the game at Jacksonville last week? Fuggetaboutit.
“The main thing we know, this is going to be our last game [for the starters], so we want to go out and make it our best game,” Winston had said.
Friday night could not have
gone much better for the Bucs unless the game had counted.
Speaking of taking a gorilla off your back, rookie place-kicker Roberto Aguayo, under siege for missing an extra point and two field goals in the first two preseason games, made all his kicks in the first half Friday.
It began with a 48-yard field goal to end the first drive, his second-longest attempt of the preseason. Bucs fans stood and cheered as Aguayo ran onto the field. He also added a 21-yarder and three extra points in the first half.
As big as Winston played, finishing with a 125.3 passer rating, his receivers played bigger. Mike Evans, who caught a touchdown pass last week, was dominant in the first half with five receptions for 115 yards and a score. Most of his yardage came on one play when he got behind the Browns’ defense for a 47-yard gain before inexplicably stepping out of bounds. He followed that up with a 34-yard touchdown reception, dragging cornerback Jamar Taylor into the end zone.
Winston didn’t just spread the ball around, he drove almost every throw downfield. He hit Vincent Jackson for 31 yards. He connected with Adam Humphries for 23.
Humphries proved he is dangerous any time the ball is in his hands, returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown.
Perhaps even more impressive is that the Bucs weren’t at full strength. Guard Kevin Pamphile was excused for family reasons. Center Joe Hawley was forced to leave the game in the first quarter.
If there was a downer, it was watching cornerback Brent Grimes let some receivers get behind him, though it’s unclear whether he was supposed to have safety help. A 43-yard touchdown pass from Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III to receiver Josh Gordon was the only bad play of the first half for the Bucs’ defense; it cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 27-10.
Grimes left the game early in the third quarter with an injury.
This was as complete of a performance the Bucs have had in many months, perhaps going back to November.
The defense sacked Griffin five times, including twice by defensive end Jacquies Smith and once by tackle Gerald McCoy, who also drew a holding penalty.
Granted, the Browns are one of the worst teams in the NFL. You don’t roll up 305 yards on offense in one half against a top-rung team, even in preseason. But if you are into reading tea leaves, consider that in Week 3 of the preseason a year ago, the Bucs lost 31-7 to the Browns and quarterback Josh McCown.