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'I know what's required': Browns' Jameis Winston not dwelling on dismal day vs. Chargers
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- 'I know what's required': Browns' Jameis Winston not dwelling on dismal day vs. Chargers
CLEVELAND — Jameis Winston has started two games for the Browns at quarterback. Those two games have provided them with just about the full Jameis Winston Experience.
A week ago, Winston was the toast of the town after his starting debut for Cleveland in a win over the Baltimore Ravens . A lot can change in a week's time, especially in the NFL.
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The passes Winston was completing against the Ravens weren't being completed in Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers . The passes he managed to avoid having intercepted by the Ravens defense, though, were intercepted by the Chargers defense.
"I mean, it's one play at a time," Winston said of the response after Sunday's disappointment. "We just got to continue to get better. We have to continue to look internally as a whole and individually and find a way to overcome this. We can do this. We can, we can endure, we can persevere. I've been here before, it's not my first rodeo, so I know what's required."
It's hard to say Winston's 10-year career hasn't prepared him for the amazing highs and lows experienced in the last eight days. A week ago, he threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in leading a come-from-behind win over the Ravens.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Morgan Fox (56) attempts to tackle Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during the first half Sunday in Cleveland.
Winston was 26-of-48 passing for 235 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions and a 50.5 passer rating against the Chargers. The lone touchdown, to wide receiver Cedric Tillman , came with 44 seconds remaining.
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"I think you learn from every mistake and I think there's some plays that I think he can learn from for sure," said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who maintained Winston would remain the starter coming out of next week's bye. "We were definitely going to play a style to try to get back in that game, more wide open, if you will, just trying to score some points.
"But I think you learned from every mistake, if you will, but it's something that he's got to, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball."
All three interceptions came on the Chargers side of the 50. While all three of them hurt, none may have stung quite like the first one, which was the by-product of a terrific defensive effort by two Los Angeles defensive backs.
After Tillman dropped a slant route on a first-and-goal play from the Chargers 4 on the Browns' opening drive of the second half, Winston tried to find wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the back right corner of the end zone. However, Los Angeles' Tarheeb Still came over to deflect the ball away and it came down into the hands of safety Elijah Molden for the pick.
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"Yeah, I have played this game for a long time, and that play is still living in my head," Winston said. "I have to make a better ball right there. If we finish, if we score right there, the momentum changes and this game probably has a different outcome.
"But that's what my focus is — it's one play at a time. And that's what it's like. That one play, because we have to make the most of the one play, the Browns have to win that one play, and I didn't do that on that play."
Winston's second pick came on a throw that ended up behind wide receiver Elijah Moore on a go route and too high for Tillman running a post. Instead, it landed in the hands of safety Alohi Gilman , who pulled it in before it hit the ground at the Chargers 14 with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Still's efforts on the first one were rewarded on the third, which came with 10:44 remaining when he simply stepped in front of a pass to Moore on a slant and intercepted it at the Chargers 34.
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"You bounce back one play at a time because that's really all that matters," Winston said.
The Browns won't get a chance to run a play in a game for two full weeks as they're about to embark on their bye week. Their next chance to play a game figures to at least be a bit emotional for Winston, as it will be his return to New Orleans , where he spent the last four seasons playing for the Saints .
Before Winston and the Browns get to that Nov. 17 game, they have to get through the bye week. Winston already knows what that week will entail for him.
"Well, I'm going to work," Winston said. "I'm having my quarterback coach come in and we're going to work. I'm going to study some film, look at myself, address myself how I can help this team get better."
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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 not dwelling on dismal day in Browns loss to Chargers
