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'It feels like one start': Jameis Winston not dwelling on AFC Offensive Player of the Week
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- 'It feels like one start': Jameis Winston not dwelling on AFC Offensive Player of the Week
BEREA — Jameis Winston's performance Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens may or may not have, at least temporarily, saved the Browns' season . It may or may not have been evidence of a sustained offensive turnaround .
But it definitely was a memorable Browns starting debut for the former No. 1 overall pick. It was also one that was recognized on Wednesday by the NFL, which named Winston the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
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No one was less outward impressed by the award that the man who won the award.
"It feels like one start," Winston said Wednesday. "My main focus is getting back out there and having a great practice today and continuing to lead this offense to do what we're capable of doing."
Winston, 30, was impressive in a 29-24 win over the Ravens . He completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards — most by a quarterback making his Browns starting debut since 1999 — and three touchdowns and a 115.3 passer rating.
All three of Winston's touchdowns helped the Browns retake the lead from Baltimore in the second half. That included a go-ahead 38-yard pass to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds remaining.
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According to Pro Football Focus, Winston was 13-of-17 passing for 192 yards with the three scores and a 152.5 passer rating during the portions of the game when the Browns were trailing the Ravens. The official game statistics said the Browns trailed for 8:59 of the game.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 27 in Cleveland.
It was the third time in Winston's career he's been recognized as a conference Offensive Player of the Week. He was the NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 4 of the 2019 season after throwing for 385 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-40 Tampa Bay Buccaneers win over the Los Angeles Rams , as well as in the 2016 season opener when he threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns in the Bucs' 31-27 over the Atlanta Falcons .
Winston is the first Browns player to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week since wide receiver Amari Cooper won it in Week 16 of last season. Cooper had a franchise-record 265 receiving yards on Christmas Eve at the Houston Texans .
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The Browns (2-6) were forced to turn to Winston after Deshaun Watson 's season-ending Achilles injury the previous week against the Cincinnati Bengals . He was named the starter over second-year pro Dorian Thompson-Robinson , who was the backup against the Bengals but had to leave the game with a finger injury.
"I know Deshaun Watson is a great quarterback," Winston said. "It's unfortunate that his name has to continue to come up because of his injury, but he's going to bounce back stronger than ever. But my focus, what's important to me right now, is making sure that we go out there and do even better than what we did last week. And that comes from practicing great Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday to put ourself in the best possible position to execute.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has already stated Winston will remain the starter for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers (4-3). Cleveland has a bye the following week.
The last time Winston started back-to-back games was in 2022, when he started the first three games of the season before injuries derailed his season. That stretch included his most recent start before last Sunday, in Week 3 of that season, a 22-14 loss at the Carolina Panthers .
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"I'm just extremely grateful for this opportunity and I'm extremely grateful for today and that's what I talked about last time," Winston said. "My focus is on winning every single day, and right now we have to go out there and win Wednesday. So I'm grateful that I get a chance to lead this offense on Wednesday, even at practice."
Winston brought an instant spark to the Browns passing game. One of the biggest ways was how he pushed the ball downfield, averaging 9.6 completed air yards and 10.5 intended air yards , according to NextGenStats.com .
The highest complete air yards average for Watson over the first six-plus games he played was 5.4 air yards per completion in the Week 3 loss to the New York Giants . His highest intended air yards average was 9.5 in the Week 5 loss at the Washington Commanders .
"I feel like as a team, we ran the football effectively," Winston said. "We made the completions when they were there. We are going to eliminate some things, but we're going to build on the positives and we're going to keep my mind focused on those positives and build it upon that."
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(This story has been updated with new information.)
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jameis Winston named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after Browns win
