Jameis Winston had another ugly day at the office on Sunday, but his head coach found a rather interesting way to defend him.
Speaking with reporters after Winston turned the ball over four more times in a loss to Tennessee, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians defended his quarterback and instead blamed the team’s receivers for running bad routes.
“Jameis did not throw one damn interception that was his fault,” said Arians, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “His receivers let him down today. Guys stopped routes that were supposed to be going down the middle.”
Winston threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns against the Titans but completed less than half of his passes and was intercepted twice. He also lost two fumbles, bringing his total number of turnovers to 15 in just seven games.
Of course, Arians is right that not every interception falls on the quarterback. But with how ridiculously mistake-prone Winston has been this season (such that opponents know exactly how to defend him), it seems fair to blame him for much of the 2-5 Bucs’ struggles.
