With his Tampa Bay Buccaneers down 38-3 at the half Sunday against the Chicago Bears, quarterback Jameis Winston made his 2018 regular season debut to start the third quarter.
He replaces a quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick who was the toast of Tampa Bay through the first two games of the season before a questionable effort in a loss to the Steelers last week.
Jameis Winston is officially in at QB for the Buccaneers to begin the second half.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 30, 2018
The first half of this game was defined by Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky tossing five touchdowns. But the story now turns to Winston replacing Fitzpatrick under center after serving a three-game suspension to start the season.
Given that it was the Bucs’ defense that struggled in the initial half, one has to wonder why Fitzpatrick was given such a quick hook. He doesn’t play cornerback. He didn’t let a struggling quarterback throw five touchdowns compared to four incompletions.
Even then, it’s now Winston’s offense to run.