Jameis Winston has a scare on a nasty hit during garbage time
Blowouts aren’t easy for head coaches to manage. There’s a strange stigma over waving the white flag, even when you should. And you can’t bench every starter; you still need to finish the game.
Yet, Jameis Winston’s final play on Thursday night isn’t something any team wants to deal with.
Winston was in during the fourth quarter of a blowout, and after a garbage-time touchdown the Buccaneers went for the 2-point conversion. And Winston tried running in, trying to make the score 40-22 instead of 40-20. Big deal.
And when Winston was going in, he was hit hard right before the goal line. Atlanta Falcons linebacker Brooks Reed had a hold of Winston’s leg and Winston’s knee got twisted as he landed. Winston limped off the field and was checked out on the sideline by the athletic training staff.
It looked fine by the end. Winston was standing on the sideline, though he was pulled after that scare. Mike Glennon finished the game, which was the prudent move (it could be argued that move would have been prudent much earlier in the fourth quarter). Winston was even seen with his helmet on late in the game. Those are good signs.
“I feel great,” Winston, who wasn’t too interested in talking about the hit, said in his postgame press conference.
It seems like the Buccaneers dodged a bullet, though Winston will likely have some more tests done to make sure his knee is OK. If the Buccaneers lost their young, face-of-the-franchise quarterback in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss, that would have been tough to explain.
– – – – – – –
Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @YahooSchwab
