Jameis Winston proves nothing has changed in Buccaneers loss

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have opened their 2019 season with a disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and Jameis Winston must take most of the blame.

After back to back seasons going 5-11 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the future looked bright with Bruce Arians taking the reigns as head coach. They entered a much-anticipated week one matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, eager to prove it was a new day in Tampa Bay.

However, what took place at Raymond James Stadium was not something new, but rather something fans of the Buccaneers were used to seeing. What that sight is, are passes caught by opposing teams that were thrown by Buccaneers’ quarterback Jameis Winston. In the 31-17 defeat of the Buccaneers at the hands of the 49ers, Winston turned the ball over three times, including an indefensible throw to crush their chances at a comeback with two minutes left in the game.

Winston finished, in addition to his three interceptions, with only 194 yards passing and just one touchdown; he completed just 55 percent of his passes against the underwhelming secondary of the 49ers. Two of the interceptions thrown by Winston were returned for touchdowns, including a pass to Peyton Barber who was split out on future Hall of Fame cornerback Richard Sherman as a decoy; Barber should not have been an intended target on that play as mismatches, by process of elimination were available.

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Barber finished with 33 yards rushing on eight carries, with a long of 14 yards. The talk of the town at the running back position, however, was Ronald Jones who tallied more yards in this game than he did in his entire rookie season. The former second round pick recorded 75 yards rushing on 13 carries, averaging almost six yards per carry; look for Jones to get the starting gig at running back next week for the Bucs.

Unsurprising given Winston’s struggles, the wide receivers did not produce with as much fire power as was expect throughout the offseason. Mike Evans finished with two catches for 28 yards, Chris Godwin led the team in receiving with three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown, and Breshad Perriman added another two catches for 10 yards.

Tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate combined for six catches and 40 yards total with no touchdowns. Howard had a poor game, fumbling one ball that was recovered by the 49ers and dropping another that led to one of Winston’s interceptions. Brate scored two touchdowns on the same drive, but had them both called back by holding calls on Demar Dotson.

The defense played a relatively stellar game, as 15 of the 49ers’ points were scored on defensive scores. Vernon Hargreaves returned a Jimmy Garoppolo pass for a touchdown off of an interception, Carlton Davis pounced on a fumble, and Shaquil Barrett recorded the Buccaneers’ only sack of the game.

This week was a huge letdown for the entire city of Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers did not look any different from the past two seasons. Next week will hopefully be a different story as the Buccaneers head to Carolina to take on the Panthers.