QB Winston at his best despite loss

TAMPA, Fla. — Jameis Winston reminded everyone Monday night why he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft and provided hope that he is not headed in the wrong direction.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a game 24-21 to the Atlanta Falcons Monday night when kicker Patrick Murray missed a 54-yard field goal wide right.

But Winston showed he indeed is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL and is only getting better. All that remains is whether a couple more performances like Monday night will be enough to save head coach Dirk Koetter’s job.

“Jameis played a heck of a game, probably played his best game of the season,” Koetter said. “Jameis was very sharp tonight. (He) took care of the football, was accurate, threw the deep ball with accuracy, checked it down, did a good job of leading our football team, Jameis played very well.”

Winston completed 16 of the first 18 passes he attempted Monday and finished 27 of 35 overall. His 130.5 passer rating is the second-highest of his career.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Winston’s targets kept disappearing due to injury. In fact, 10 players were announced with injuries during the game and only tight end Cameron Brate (knee) was able to finish.

After the game, the Bucs had three players wearing a walking boot and linebacker Adarius Glanton suffered a broken leg.

Tight end O.J. Howard caught a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, but suffered an ankle injury when he was hit by Falcons defensive back Brian Poole. Receiver DeSean Jackson hurt his ankle and could not return. Even right guard J.R. Sweezy, one of only three remaining starting offensive linemen, left the game with a lower-leg injury.

“Talk about ‘next man up.’ I mean, good Lord, we had so many injuries,” Winston said. “So many unfortunate things have been happening, but you know, when I woke up this morning, one of my good buddies had called me and read me Proverbs (18:12). It basically was, ‘You must have humility before honor.’ … We were resilient, but we just fell short. It was unfortunate. … We just have to humble ourselves and keep digging and keep working.”

One of the Bucs players that went wire-to-wire was receiver Mike Evans. Winston admitted he has done a poor job of giving Evans chances to catch the football this season, even while covered. All that changed Monday as he was targeted eight times, catching five passes for 79 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown. Two other receptions were called back for offensive pass interference.

“You guys can shred me up for the whole year for not giving him that chance,” Winston said of Evans. “I will take it because that’s the truth. Sometimes it’s concepts, but in that situation when Mike is one-on-one or no one is around him, I’ve got to give him a chance. That is really on me.”

At 4-10, Koetter’s chance of returning for 2018 is looking bleaker. But if the decision is to be a referendum on whether he is capable of developing Winston, the answer is an emphatic yes.

It was the seventh straight start Winston lost this season. Think about that. But he probably should not have played in three of those games, struggling with a sprained A.C. joint in his right shoulder.

–It’s been this kind of year for the Bucs. A fumble in the final seconds may have prevented them a chance to send the game into overtime against the Atlanta Falcons. A fumble. By the umpire trying to spot the football.

That’s right. Trailing 24-21 with no timeouts, quarterback Jameis Winston completed an 11-yard pass to Cameron Brate for a first down at the Falcons 36-yard line. Umpire Tony Michalek went to spot the football, which should have been placed down with about 11 seconds left. But Michalek lost his balance, then the football, falling to the ground as center Joe Hawley pleaded for him to hurry up.

Finally, by the time quarterback Jameis Winston spiked the football to kill the clock, there was only five seconds remaining in the game.

Kicker Patrick Murray’s 54-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the game was wide right. Had the Bucs had at least nine seconds remaining, Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said he would have tried to run one more play to get Murray a little closer.

“With nine (seconds) you do, but we wouldn’t have had nine (seconds) after that ref fell down,” Koetter said. “We have a play where Jameis has the option of clocking it or throwing it and that’s the play that was on there. But at that point, I didn’t even know where we were at on the coach-to-communicator. But when I saw that ref fall down, I was telling him ‘clock it, clock it’ because you just can’t risk it. It wasn’t a distance issue, he just pushed it off a little bit.”

REPORT CARD VS. FALCONS

–PASSING OFFENSE: A — Jameis Winston had his best game of the season, passing for 299 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His rating was 130.5, the second-highest of his career. He also brought the Bucs back down from two scores Monday. WR Mike Evans finally caught a deep ball for a TD.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: C — The Bucs gained 84 yards on 18 rushing attempts. RB Doug Martin was inactive for violation of team rules. Peyton Barber got the start and rushed 13 times for 53 yards, but lost a fumble at the Atlanta 5-yard line.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — Matt Ryan was somewhat inconsistent. He passed for 212 yards and one touchdown. Bucs DT Clinton McDonald had a big third-down sack to give the Bucs a chance in the final minutes of the game.

–RUSH DEFENSE: F — The Bucs decided to commit a lot of resources to stopping WR Julio Jones, but that allowed Devonta Freeman to run wild. He rushed for 126 yards on 22 carries and a TD. The Falcons rushed for 201 yards.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus — The Bucs didn’t cover kicks too well Monday night. P Bryan Anger had an OK night with two inside the 20-yard line and a 47.8 average. But the big miss – a 54-yard field-goal attempt by Patrick Murray at the buzzer.

–COACHING: A — It’s hard to know if Dirk Koetter can survive after a 4-10 record at this point. But 10 players became injured, Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David were out and the Bucs gave the Falcons all they could handle.