Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) throws Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Broderick Washington (96) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/ Sue Ogrocki)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jameis Winston doesn’t anticipate the fiery, sometimes funny and always moving pregame speeches he gives to his teammates. The animated quarterback prefers to let his Sunday sermons unfold naturally.
“I’m not repeating anything,” he said.
Winston likes to get away with it. It seems he likes to play that way too.
A week after giving the Browns a well-deserved boost by throwing three touchdown passes in his first start in more than two years, Winston will have the opportunity to do it again Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) and to the NFL team. the stingiest defense.
As debuts go, his performance in Cleveland’s 29-24 win over Baltimore was historic and also vintage for Winston.
His 334 passing yards were the most among the 39 quarterbacks who started for the Browns (2-6) since their expansion renaissance in 1999. But if the Ravens hadn’t given up several potential interceptions, Winston could don’t even start this week.
Winston’s game — following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury — earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors and an endorsement of sorts from Browns coach, Kevin Stefanski, who said the plan was for the 30-year-old to start the rest. of this season.
“But as you know,” Stefanski said, “in football we are every day.”
This is especially true in Cleveland.
The Browns started five different QBs last season, reinforcing the need to have a quality one behind Watson. Once the team gave up on drafting Joe Flacco, who had led them to the playoffs a year ago, Winston became the backup plan.
Winston’s talent was never in question. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2015 has a powerful arm and the elusive pocket to keep plays alive — or kill them.
In 2019 with Tampa Bay, Winston led the league in passing yards (5,109), yards per game (319) and interceptions (30). He takes risks, and sometimes they backfire.
Even after last week’s win, Winston acknowledged he’s a “great” quarterback while sounding a note of caution.
“I’m confident that when I make good decisions, one play at a time, I’m a great NFL quarterback,” he said.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was impressed by Winston’s ability to revive Cleveland’s offense (the Browns scored 20 points for the first time this season) against a Baltimore team coached by his brother, John Harbaugh .
“I played a great game, top-flight quarterback,” said Jim Harbaugh, whose defense allows just 13 points per game. “I always had a lot of respect for him. I don’t know if the offense changed significantly, but it worked extremely well to move the team and play the game. I have always been a fan of his game.”
Winston has won over his teammates in Cleveland since his arrival. He is usually the first player to arrive at the site in the morning and one of the last to leave.
His passionate pep talks, whether in the locker room or in groups, were also well received.
They come in many forms; Winston is as comfortable reciting Bible verses as he is rap lyrics. Last week, he walked off the field after quoting Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” during a television interview. The message was: “you only get one chance.”
“I encourage everyone to have that mentality because it’s so true,” Winston said. “In all our professions, opportunities come but once, and we must be grateful, receive them with authority, and make the most of them. »
Good memories
Cleveland holds a special place in Harbaugh’s heart.
Not only did his first NFL touchdown pass take place at the old Municipal Stadium, but it was also where he spent his summers as a child while visiting his mother’s family.
“My first appreciation for yard work came from my grandfather Joe,” the Chargers coach said. “The work ethic that has been passed down from generation to generation comes largely from Joe Cipiti.”
Before the season started, Harbaugh gave his players old-fashioned work shirts embroidered with their names, like those worn by gas station attendants and mechanics. The shirts paid homage to his grandfather, a self-taught mechanic who ended up teaching at a trade school in Cleveland.
Time is running out
Week after week, Browns running back Nick Chubb is showing signs of becoming his old self again after a second devastating left knee injury.
Chubb only had 52 yards on 16 carries last week, but his cuts were sharper and he looked more decisive.
Browns Pro Bowl safety Joel Bitonio noticed the difference on one particular run.
“(Ravens nose tackle) Michael Pierce – the depth chart says 355 (pounds), but he’s like 390 or something – he almost jumped on his back once and he kind of stayed up and gained another five meters on the edge,” Bitonio said. “So I’m like, ‘That sounds like the Nick Chubb I know.'”
Quick study
Chargers rookie right tackle Joe Alt is preparing for another test. He has succeeded in all the big challenges so far.
The No. 5 pick in this year’s draft, Alt held his own against Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby, Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt and Kansas City’s Chris Jones, three of the league’s best rushers.
This week he gets the matchup Alt said he was looking forward to before the draft when he faces Cleveland’s Myles Garrett.
Alt did not allow quarterback pressure last week against New Orleans on any of his 38 pass-blocking snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was impressed with the former Notre Dame lineman.
“They asked him to do so many different things – left side, right side, inside – and he can do it all. He can cover passes and he’s a complete player,” Herbert said.
