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NEW ORLEANS – Jameis Winston couldn’t have put on a stronger record to become the New Orleans Saints’ next starting quarterback on Monday Night Football.
Winston completed 9 of 10 passes for 123 yards and two deep touchdowns that ended with catcher Marquez Callaway’s spectacular catches against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Caesars Superdome. All in the first quarter of a 23-21 victory.
The timing couldn’t have been better for Winston, 27, who is trying to relaunch his career after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers left him last offseason. Saints coach Sean Payton told NBC Sports he hopes to name New Orleans’ starting quarterback ahead of Saturday’s preseason final against the Arizona Cardinals – which has makes Monday night’s game the most important showcase yet for Winston and Taysom Hill.
Hill, who turned 31 on Monday, got off to a slow start but finished with his first preseason touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter – a perfectly placed 14 yardage for wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Hill completed 11 of 20 passes for 138 yards with no turnovers or rush attempts. He was flagged once for an intentional stranding, but also led the Saints to a field goal in the final 36 seconds of half-time.
Winston, meanwhile, was actually making his first debut with the Saints since there had been no preseason when he first joined the team in 2020. And has he any. never made the most of it.
Winston completed a 10-yard pass to Callaway in the game’s first snap. Three games later, he converted a third try with a strike to tight end Juwan Johnson. Then he finished the first down with the 43-yard touchdown pass that Callaway somehow caught on his way to the ground despite a pass interference penalty against Jaguars rookie cornerback Tyson Campbell.
Winston’s pass traveled 53.3 yards in the air, according to ESPN Stats & Information – the greatest air distance on any Saints pass since 2016 in preseason, regular season or playoffs.
Winston’s second TD pass could have been even more impressive – 29 yards to Callaway on the left sideline – since he had a free blitzer in his face when he threw it. And that might have been a more impressive hold from Callaway, too, since he wrapped it up with one hand while being knocked to the ground.
Even Winston’s isolated incompleteness wasn’t all that negative, as he used his judgment in deciding to switch to a running back on the third and 16 after first looking in depth. Winston has shown progress in this area this summer after turnovers derailed his career in Tampa.
Before Monday night, the competition between Winston and Hill was undoubtedly still too close to be announced, because the two QBs had done nice things without any real knockout. Both threw interceptions in last week’s preseason opener (although their receivers shared the blame in both cases).
Winston led the Saints on their only two TD records last week while playing with the second string.
The deep ball was also a point in Winston’s favor. He showed his big arm a few times throughout training camp – a new element he could obviously add to the New Orleans offense following the retirement of Drew Brees.
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