Browns QB Jameis Winston reflects on big day and praises former teammate

Entering the fourth quarter, the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints were deadlocked at 14-14. Browns QB Jameis Winston looked ready to lead his new team to victory over his former team.

Winston spent the past four seasons with the Saints before signing with the Browns this offseason, and as he entered the final stanza of the game he had a chance to leave his old stomping grounds with a win.

That Hollywood story just wasn’t meant to be. New Orleans then scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 35-14 victory, spoiling a great day by Winston who completed 30 of 46 passes for 395 yards and two scores.

It wasn’t the ending he had hoped for.

“I am extremely grateful for the love and support I have received from this city,” Winston said. “This is absolutely not the outcome we wanted. But we keep fighting. We will keep getting better. And we will continue to look inward and be the solution. We must individually be the solution. ”

Given how well Winston played, it seems unfathomable that the Browns’ offense produced just two touchdowns that day. The veteran QB’s first TD came on an 89-yard completion to Jerry Jeudy. It was Cleveland’s first play over 40 yards this season. Later, Winston found Elijah Moore in the back of the end zone on a broken pocket pass, leaving just enough room for Moore to touch his toes along the sideline for six.

Unfortunately – as Winston even explained – they just couldn’t complete enough rides. Whether it was Dustin Hopkins’ two missed field goals or the drives that fizzled out before they could get into scoring range, 14 points was all they could muster.

“We just have to continue to finish drives with touchdowns,” Winston said. “We’ve done some good things, but every week we do good things. We have to find ways to finish. And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we can score more points for the defense.”

That wasn’t a problem for the Saints as Winston’s stellar performance was overshadowed by one of his former teammates in Taysom Hill. The jack-of-all-trades tight end saw just about every skill position role on Sunday. He tormented the Browns to the tune of 206 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns.

Despite his best efforts to also give the game away after throwing an interception and clumsily trying to stop another drive in the first half, Hill ultimately redeemed himself, and then some. Cleveland literally had no answers for him and his performance overshadowed a day that — at least for a while — seemed destined to be about the former Saints QB.

“I know Taysom,” Winston said. “He’s a great player. We always showed replays, that’s just how great a player he is. He’s hard to plan for, he’s hard to stop. And I didn’t know he could run inside the zone and he did that .” Well, when you’re playing against one of the all-time best athletes the NFL has ever seen, you gotta come along. And he was prepared, he did a great job today.”