Jameis Winston won't look good against Chargers

Winston impressed in his season debut against a bad defense, but he'll come back down to Earth against Los Angeles

Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa (97) celebrates with defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia (93) and linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu (45) after forcing a fumble in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers have a lot of respect for Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston. Respect is a good thing to have in sports, but too much of it can be a detriment.

Winston just carved the Baltimore Ravens' defense up to the tune of 334 yards and three touchdowns in Cleveland's highest-scoring game of the season. The Chargers have watched the film, and the team had nothing but positive things to say about what it saw.

"Played a great game. Top-flight guy, top-flight quarterback," Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday. "Always had a ton of respect for him."

"I don't know if the offense changed significantly, but he operated extremely moving the team, playing the game," Harbaugh later added. "Like I said, I've always been a fan of his game."

For the first time this season, Cleveland's offense operated on timing and precision. While that can be easily attributed to the team's change at quarterback, the real reason was Baltimore's inability to pressure Winston.

Cleveland entered that game with the worst pass protection and third-down metrics in the NFL this season. Against Baltimore, the Browns went eight-of-15 on third down and kept Winston clean.

While its fine for the Chargers to speak good words about Winston in pressers, they should tone down the respect on Sunday. In other words, send the heat.

The Chargers defense is significantly better than Baltimore's and should be able to do what the Ravens couldn't.

Winston is known for being erratic, which he alluded to after last week's game. Los Angeles needs to rush him and bring the old Winston out. If they do that, the Chargers should be looking at two turnovers and holding the Browns to fewer than 250 passing yards.

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