Winston will start as QB roulette goes on
TAMPA — The Bucs will go back to the future by starting Jameis Winston at quarterback Sunday against the 49ers.
Bucs coach Dirk Koetter reached the decision early Monday but did not make the announcement in his news conference, waiting until he had a chance to meet individually with both Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick was benched in the third quarter Sunday after throwing three interceptions in the Bucs’ 38-35 loss to the New York Giants. Winston led the Bucs to touchdowns on four straight possessions. He finished 12 of 16 passing for 199 yards with two touchdowns and one interception at the end of the game.
“He played better. Yup,” Koetter said of Winston. “You’re asking me to put a statistical number on it. He played better. He got us in the end zone four straight times. For the most part, he made good decisions with the football.’’
Including Winston’s three-game suspension, it’s the fourth time the Bucs have changed their starting quarterback. Koetter acknowledged that the rotation has been disruptive to both players.
“For sure, to those players in particular, of course, of course both those guys would rather have played the whole time,” Koetter said. “You know, how much it’s been disruptive to everyone else? That’s difficult to say, but you know, our quarterback play in general has been spectacular at times and not good enough at times.
“That’s just the story of where we’re at on offense right now. Almost every game, we get some beautiful, beautiful play at quarterback. Some tremendous throws, some great decision-making, some beautiful adjustments. But at other times, we got some bad decision-making that resulted in turnovers, and that’s hurting our team.”
The Bucs lead the NFL with 23 interceptions. Fitzpatrick has 12 and Winston has 11.
Fitzpatrick started the season by throwing for 400 yards in each of his first three games, an NFL record. He stunned the New Orleans Saints in the season opener by throwing for 417 yards and four touchdowns. He followed that up with a 402-yard, 4 TD performance in a win over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles and was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight game.
Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions in as many plays in the Bucs 30-27 loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football. After falling behind by five touchdowns in the first half at Chicago, Fitzpatrick was benched the first time for Winston in the second half.
Winston played well but lost in his regular season debut at Atlanta. The next week, he threw two INTs in a shaky 26-23 win over Cleveland. Then came the four-interception meltdown at Cincinnati that put him back on the bench.
Fitzpatrick rallied the Bucs from 18 points down in the fourth quarter but the Bucs lost 37-34. He started three more games, losing at Carolina, home vs. Washington and Sunday at the Giants.
Fitzpatrick’s final pass Sunday was a high, deep throw to DeSean Jackson that was intercepted by safety Curtis Riley.
“I just threw it up,” Fitzpatrick said. “I threw it up. He’s either going to make a play or they were and when you throw up 50-50 balls, fifty percent of the time they get them.”
But Koetter took issue Monday with that description.
“That wasn’t a 50-50 ball,” Koetter said. “That was a bad decision. A 50-50 ball is a ball that’s thrown deep against the proper coverage and that’s not what that was. And you know, I’m sorry if I have to disagree with that but I’m going to lie about that. That wasn’t an opportunity ball. That was a poor decision.’’
Koetter said he didn’t know if Winston will start the remaining six games.
“I never go into it thinking it’s a week to week thing,” Koetter said. “But I think continuity is a cop out. We’ve got capable quarterbacks. There’s no reason they can’t play consistent football. I mean I know they can do it.
“You’re asking me to predict the future and unfortunately I can’t do that.”