Jameis Winston is Bad News for Falcons
The New Orleans Saints have named Jameis Winston their starting quarterback, according to multiple reports.
The Atlanta Falcons are familiar with Winston, as he spent five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams faced off twice per season as NFC South divisional rivals.
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Winston has started nine games in his career against Atlanta, all with the Buccaneers. And he's feasted on the Falcons.
Winston's career quarterback rating in six seasons is 86.9. In nine games against the Falcons, he posted a 109.1 rating. That's the highest rating against any team he faced more than once.
Some career quarterback ratings of note:
Jameis Winston 9 games vs. Falcons - 109.1
Patrick Mahomes - 108.7 (Career)
Aaron Rodgers - 103.9 (Career)
Tom Brady - 97.3 (Career)
The former No. 1 pick has 25 touchdown passes against the Falcons in those nine games. He has 11 career touchdown passes against the Saints and nine against the Panthers, teams he faced nine and 10 times, respectively.
Yes, Winston has thrown more touchdowns against the Falcons than the Panthers and Saints combined.
| Team | Games | TDs | INTs | QB Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Falcons | 9 | 25 | 9 | 109.1 |
Saints | 9 | 11 | 10 | 76.8 |
Panthers | 10 | 9 | 14 | 75.6 |
A good reason for Winston's success against the Falcons is the lack of pass rush. The Falcons sacked Winston just 11 times, while the Saints had 24 and the Panthers a whopping 32 in 10 games.
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees seemed to torment the Falcons for years. His career quarterback rating against Atlanta was 97.1, surprisingly lower than Winston's.
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The big difference between the perception of the two quarterbacks comes down to the Saints and Buccaneers themselves. Brees enjoyed a .655 winning percentage against Atlanta, going 19-10.
Despite Winston's success against the Falcons defense, his record was only 4-5 (.444).
If the Falcons are going to break the success that the Saints have had over them the last 10 years, they can't count on the loss of Brees to be the answer.
Winston has been better against the Falcons than Brees, but will Winston's Saints be better than the teams Brees led the last decade?
The Falcons will see the Saints for the first time on Nov. 7, Week 9 of the NFL season. They play again in Atlanta in the regular season finale Jan. 9.
