CLEVELAND (AP) — Jameis Winston doesn't plan the fiery, sometimes funny and always emotional pregame speeches he delivers to teammates. The animated quarterback prefers to let his Sunday sermons happen naturally. “I’m not rehearsing things,” he said.
Winston likes to wing it. He seems to like playing that way, too. One week after providing the Browns with a badly needed jolt by throwing three touchdown passes in his first start in more than two years, Winston will get the chance to do it again on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) and the NFL's stingiest defense.
As debuts go, his performance in Cleveland's 29-24 upset of Baltimore was historic and also vintage Winston. His 334 yards passing were the most by any of the 39 quarterbacks who have started for the Browns (2-6) since their 1999 expansion rebirth. But if not for the Ravens dropping several potential interceptions, Winston might not even be starting this week.
Winston's game — in the aftermath of Deshaun Watson's season-ending injury — earned him AFC offensive player of the week honors and something of an endorsement from Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who said the plan is for the 30-year-old to start the rest of this season. “But as you know,” Stefanski said, "in football we’re all day to day.” That's particularly true in Cleveland.
The Browns started five different QBs last season, reinforcing the need to have a quality one behind Watson. Once the team passed on re-signing Joe Flacco, .
