Drew Brees Out, Can Jameis Winston Keep The Saints Marching In?

• New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston might have his shot at showing the world what he’s capable of on the field as teammate Drew Brees is out with injuries.
• Coach Sean Payton has not publicly decided on whether he will play Winston or Taysom Hill for New Orleans next game against the Atlanta Falcons.
• Winston finished out the second half of the match on Sunday after Brees left the field, allowing the Saints to stay in the lead for the victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints got a crushing blow on Sunday when quarterback Drew Brees was injured and Jameis Winston came in to take over.

Though planned for just the remainder of the game, the leader may now be a position Winston will have for all upcoming Saints’ games for the foreseeable future as the length of Brees’ recovery time is unknown. During the game against the San Francisco 49ers, Brees complained of rib pain and head coach Sean Payton decided to take the veteran quarterback out of the game and put in Winston to take over while Brees underwent testing.

“He took a heavy shot in the first half,” said Payton after the game. ” He felt it was really impacting him and said ‘I don’t feel like I’m capable of playing.’ And that happens sometimes.”

Brees’ Injury & Winston Leading The Saints Mid-Season

Winston played the bulk of the second half against the 49ers. He went 6-10 and gained 63 yards on six possessions during his time on the field.

The Saints would go on to win the game 27-13, giving them a record of (7-2) and having San Francisco fall to (4-6) as the NFL oddsmakers predicted would happen. But can Winston keep putting W’s on the board for New Orleans with their star QB sidelined?

The star QB himself thinks so, having nothing but words of praise for his teammate.

“I thought he did great. I thought he had great command of the huddle and everything, kind of went off without a hitch,” said Brees. “Obviously, nothing’s perfect. But I thought he made some great throws. I thought he made some really good decisions and obviously took advantage of the opportunities that were given out there.”

Brees has since found out that he has fractured ribs on both sides of his ribcage and a collapsed right lung caused by the broken ribs. These injuries are said to have happened over at least a period of two weeks of taking hits on the field.

Recovery for this will take quite a few weeks, Meanwhile, Coach Payton has to figure out if he will continue to use Winston or go with his utility QB Taysom Hill.

Hill is more like the MLB relief pitcher in how he’s been used by the Saints. He has relieved Brees when needed but as for being a full four-quarter game player? That remains to be seen in 2020.

The coach for New Orleans hasn’t made an official announcement as to who he will start when the Saints play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. It could be Winston or it could be Hill. But more likely than not, Winston will get possession of the pigskin on Sunday, and sportsbooks will have betting lines for his performance posted so sports bettors can wager on how well he will fare.

The Outlook For New Orleans

The 49ers game was only the second time that Winston has seen action this season. The previous week he passed for 12 yards against Tampa and nailed his one of one completion.

Playing as QB for the Buccaneers in 2019, he threw 30 interceptions and 33 touchdowns for the season.

It will take the athlete a game or two to get the feel for the game back but Winston can do it. If Jameis can keep his interceptions to a minimum, he could bring New Orleans the victories they’re looking for to get into postseason play.

Winston has all of the tools that make up a great quarterback, he just needs some finetuning to give the Saints the sound of sweet victories marching in.

News tags: Atlanta Falcons | Drew Brees | Jameis Winston | New Orleans Saints | NFL | San Francisco 49ers | Sean Payton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Taysom Hill