With the Los Angeles Rams standing at 3-0 and tied atop the NFC West standings with the San Francisco 49ers, there is pressure to stay perfect ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers have gotten off to an uneven start to the 2019 NFL season as they have opened up with a 1-2 record and are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the New York Giants. New York opted to bench Eli Manning for Daniel Jones and the rookie quarterback torched Tampa Bay for 336 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.
While the Giants have seemingly found their quarterback of the future in Jones, the Buccaneers are in a tough spot as Jameis Winston has been up-and-down since entering the league. However, according to Stu Jackson of Rams, Rams head coach Sean McVay recalls what made Winston the first overall pick out of Florida State in the 2015 NFL Draft:
McVay was on Washington's coaching staff when Winston declared in 2015. Kirk Cousins was QB, so position wasn't a huge need. But Winston's FSU-ND performance stood out to him:
"Watching the way (Winston) responded from a couple of turnovers says as much as anything (about him)."
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 27, 2019
Winston had a very successful college career, going 26-1 as the starter and finished with 3,907 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in his final season with the Seminoles. He was widely considered to be the favorite to be the top overall pick and that ended up being the case.
The Buccaneers were a popular pick in the offseason to make some noise this year after bringing in Bruce Arians to be their new head coach. Arians has worked wonders for a number of quarterbacks and Winston figured to be the next beneficiary of his playcalling and offensive schemes.
However, the Buccaneers signal-caller has yet to make much of an impact in the early goings as he had a terrible start in Week 1 against the 49ers where he threw for only 194 passing yards and three interceptions. Turnovers have been a major issue for the Florida State product considering he often forces the ball into tight coverage and makes questionable reads when pressured.
Despite his struggles, Tampa Bay has remained competitive in all their games so far thanks to a revamped defense coordinated by Todd Bowles. Arguably the league’s worst unit last year, the Buccaneers have found ways to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks which is notable given how much talk there has been about Goff’s inability to operate when defenders close in on him.
While the Rams continue to look for some rhythm on offense, their defense is what has been able to prop them up in games. With Winston being mistake-prone, Los Angeles should be able to force turnovers and move to 4-0.
