Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What went wrong for Jameis Winston?

The wide-eyed optimism and promise of a new era came to a screeching halt in week one for Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The college football phenom was forced to eat a large slice of humble pie as his NFL debut ended in a 42-14 blowout loss at home. In fact, the Bucs’ 28-point defeat was the largest margin of defeat on the opening Sunday of the 2015 season. So what exactly went wrong for Winston and the Buccaneers?

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As we know, the quarterback often gets too much credit when his team wins, and also receives too much criticism when his team loses. That being the case, there is plenty of blame to go around for the laughable outcome of Tampa Bay’s week one demolition. For one, Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota had much to do with Tampa’s struggles on defense.

The number two overall draft pick was flawless in his NFL debut, dicing up the Bucs’ defense for four touchdown passes in the first half. Mariota actually became the first rookie quarterback to ever throw for four touchdowns in the first half of his NFL debut. His quick release and pin point accuracy allowed him to complete 13 of his 16 throws for 209 yards in the game.

Sep 13, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) throws the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee’s offensive line also was able to impose their will on the Bucs’ defensive front. In particular, Titans’ tackle Taylor Lewan and guard Chance Warmack provided alley ways that were exploited in the running game. All told, the Titans rushed for 124 yards on the day with second-year halfback Bishop Sankey pacing Tennessee with 74 rushing yards. Tennessee’s offensive line also afforded Mariota great protection as he was only sacked twice compared to Winston who was sacked four times.

Penalties at inopportune times also contributed to the lopsided score. While Tennessee was penalized eight times for 55 yards, the Bucs were penalized 12 times for 97 yards. In addition, second-year Bucs’ receiver Mike Evans was unable to play due to a nagging hamstring injury. I don’t think Evans would have been able to change the outcome of this game, but not having such an explosive threat certainly didn’t help Winston’s cause either.

As far as Winston is concerned, I thought he fell into the same bad habits that contributed to his shaky play in the preseason. Winston looked as though he was predetermining where he was going to make a large portion of his throws, none more evident than the pick six he threw on his very first pass of the game.

Despite the fact that Tennessee was without the services of starting corner Jason McCourty, who was sidelined with a groin injury, I thought Titans’ defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau did a great job of dialing up exotic blitzes while using his cornerbacks to aggressively anticipate short passes.

Aug 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) gets pressured against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

As Winston struggled through a 16-for-33 passing performance, his pocket awareness also left much to be desired in my opinion. While Winston’s counterpart Mariota often made quick decisions with the football, Winston appeared to hang onto the ball for too long in several situations. Granted, it was hard to tell if Winston was holding onto the ball because he wasn’t seeing the field properly, or if Tampa Bay’s receivers simply couldn’t get open. However, one must take into account that Mariota doesn’t exactly have an elite receiving core to work with either, yet he was able to locate his pass catchers perfectly fine.

Winston’s accuracy also seemed to be an issue. It looked like Winston had a much more difficult time than Mariota of getting on the same page with his receivers. I think Mariota’s experience anticipating throwing windows in Oregon’s spread offense served him well in his debut. Mariota was able to throw to specific spots before his receivers were even there whereas Winston was not.

Based off of one game, it is impossible to predict whether or not these trends will continue for both rookie passers. Simply put, Mariota played great and Winston stunk up the joint. In Winston’s defense, I think he did show some flashes of making quick decisions and accurate passes from the pocket. However, Winston will have to get it done on a much more consistent basis if he is to succeed at the NFL level.

Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Is Jameis Winston ready to start?

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