Saints vs. Falcons: Atlanta Reveals Challenges with QB Jameis Winston

The Falcons will see a familiar face in a different place to open the new season.

The Atlanta Falcons host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday to kick off the regular season, with the matchup marking the 107th meeting between the rivals.

However, the newest edition features a twist: a pair of quarterbacks making their first start against the other for their new team.

For the Falcons, veteran Marcus Mariota is poised to make his debut in Atlanta and return to the starting role for the first time since Week 6 of 2019.

On New Orleans' side, Jameis Winston will begin his second season as the starting signal caller, coming off a torn ACL in Week 8 last year that ended his campaign before facing the Falcons.

Still, Winston is a familiar opponent for the Falcons, as he's made nine career starts against the team as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former No. 1 overall draft pick - taken one slot above Mariota - has a career record of 4-5 against Atlanta.

While Winston is no stranger to the Falcons organization, there's an element of unknown entering the matchup due to the number of changes that have taken place since 2019, the last time he played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Apart from Atlanta being different under center, Sunday's game will be Winston's first against Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and his second versus defensive coordinator Dean Pees. Further, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is Atlanta's only active defensive player still in the picture from the 2019 contest.

Despite the lack of history between Pees and Winston, Atlanta's 73-year-old defensive coordinator holds a high level of respect for the talent and development the former Florida State star has shown, and understands the challenge that lays ahead in the season opener

"The thing about (Winston) is that he's got a very strong arm," Pees proclaimed. "He's accurate, at times - he can have his moments, but he's got a strong, strong arm. I think he's really improved in reading coverages over the years. Also, the system, I think, in New Orleans is beneficial to him to what it's been in other places. The other thing is that he has hurt people with his feet; he's been mobile."

Winston had 32 scrambles for 166 yards in his seven starts last year, often beating teams out of structure rather than getting designed runs. Now 28, the 6-4, 231-pound Winston is still less than a year removed from his ACL injury and suffered a foot injury in training camp that hindered his preseason. In short, Winston's legs likely won't be a featured part of the Saints' game plan.

Regardless, Winston's never been the traditional dual threat quarterback and isn't one of the first names that comes to mind when thinking about the league's top rushers from the position. Still, his running style shares resemblance to another big-bodied gunslinger, according to Pees.

"He's not only mobile, (but) he's also a big dude," said Pees. "It's not like (former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben) Roethlisberger; he wasn't mobile, he was nifty, because he could make you miss but he was hard to bring down even when you hit him. Jameis is a little bit the same way; he's a big guy. I've seen him scramble and hurt people, and I have gone against him over the years. He can put the ball in there. He's certainly a big threat."

Pees will be the primary coach assigned to stopping Winston on Sunday, but he's far from the only person in Atlanta's building who's taken notice of Winston's high-end arm talent. Despite never having to game plan against the former Heisman Trophy winner, Smith has seen Winston play twice; once as the Tennessee Titans' assistant tight end's coach and another as the team's offensive coordinator.

Now tasked with running the entire operation, Smith has spent the last week scheming up ways to limit Winston through the air. Ranking atop the list of ways to do exactly that is generating pressure early and often.

"Jameis, (I've) gone against him when he was with Tampa," Smith said. "He's got a live arm and I've got a lot of respect for him. He's going to keep swinging (no matter) how it goes. They've got good talent around him. He's got a heck of an arm; he's got good experience in this league. If we can't affect him early, he can make it hell for us."

One of the players Atlanta will be reliant on to make Winston uncomfortable in the pocket is the aforementioned Jarrett. In seven matchups against Winston, Jarrett has enjoyed great success, totaling six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

With the two primed to add another game to the total on Sunday, Jarrett heaped praise on Winston while echoing his head coach's comments.

"Out of all the quarterbacks that I've played in my career, whether it's college or pros, he's one of the top as far as competes," Jarrett revealed. "He's just a super competitor. He's going to go hard to the end and just straight willpower. He can make all the throws, but we've got to definitely try to put pressure on him and keep him uneasy in the pocket."

The Falcons and Saints split the season series a year ago, with New Orleans rolling out Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill at quarterback after Winston went down. Now eager to build on last year's 7-10 record, Atlanta's embracing the challenges that Winston presents.

"It's definitely going to be a tough matchup," Jarrett began, "(but) we want to compete against the best they have to offer."

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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