The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off a disappointing 48-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 4 that has pushed upon them questions concerning their starting quarterback situation.
Head coach Dirk Koetter has made it clear on Monday that Jameis Winston will be the starter for Week 6 action against the Atlanta Falcons, according to Rick Stroud of Tampabay.com.
Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said Jameis Winston will start against the Falcons.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) October 1, 2018
The writing had been put on the wall during the crushing loss to the Bears with Fitzpatrick struggling once again completing 9-of-18 passes for 126 yards with an interception. This along with the defensive issues had pushed him out of the game with Winston taking over the duties. However, the Florida State product also had his own struggles throwing a pair of interceptions while completing an efficient 16-of-20 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown.
It may have just been a matter of time before the Buccaneers were going to turn to Winston be the starter. Fitzpatrick had gotten off to an incredible start with three straight performances with more than 400 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Things had gotten a bit off the rail over the last two games as he struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers throwing three interceptions in the first half. He was able to put the team back in the spot to potentially put out a win, but he has struggled to play effectively.
All of this has given Winston the chance to show that he can lead the team to success after splitting their first four games of the year. The Buccaneers are in the spot to potentially compete for a playoff spot if he can push them to forward, which it is also on his shoulders that he can be their long-term answer past this season. He is only under contract for the 2019 season after the team had elected to pick up the $20.9 million fifth-year option, which puts a tremendous amount of importance on how his plays out the rest of this year.
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