Mike Detillier not surprised by Jameis Winston rollercoaster

Saints quarterback Jameis Winston
Photo credit USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints rollercoaster continued its ride. After losing in overtime at home last week, the Saints pulled off a double digit win on the road, beating the Washington Football Team 33-22.

It was a bit of an unusual game, looking at the box score. Washington outgained the Saints (373-369), ran substantially more plays (76-55), and possessed the ball for much longer (36:26-23:34). Yet it ended up being an 11 point win. And a key part of the rollercoaster win was Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

“It shouldn't surprise anyone that you're going to see this rollercoaster with Jameis,” Mike Detillier, WWL NFL analyst and co-host of Sports Talk, said. “He hits the big play, and you're excited about it. But there's something mis-jointed here in the way things are running offensively. You're not able to piece together drives. You do hit the big play; and, man, I'm all for that. That's sort of disheartening if you're on the defensive side of the football.

“That's got to be the biggest improvement for the Saints,” Detillier continued. “The ability to piece together drives. And it seems to be a little mis-jointed at this stage.”

Winston completed just 50% of his passes; but he threw for 279 yards, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt, with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, good for a passer rating of 108.2. He also added 26 yards on 6 carries.

Winston threw his pick on the opening drive but followed that up with 72 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. He lost a fumble on the next drive but followed that up by going 3-3 for 33 yards on a touchdown drive. And he ended the half by throwing a beautiful 49 yard touchdown on a Hail Mary as the half ended.

It was not the most consistent game for the New Orleans quarterback, but Winston made enough plays. Detillier was impressed with the consistency of a couple Saints players on the other side of the ball, however.

“Marshon Lattimore was at the top rung of the ladder,” Detillier said. “How well he played against one of the best wideouts in the game in Terry McLaurin. If you watch pro football, you know he's one of the top five or six receivers in this game. And [Lattimore] did a really nice job all game long on him.”

Lattimore finished with 1 tackle and a ridiculous 6 pass deflections. To give that a little context, Lattimore entered the game with 3 deflections on the season. He's now second in the NFL in the category.

Detillier then turned to a rookie linebacker.

“In back-to-back weeks, Pete Werner [had a good performance],” Detillier said. “What I like so much about him is that he's smart, he's always around the football, he doesn't make a lot of false steps in run support or pass coverage. He's like a magnet to the football.”

Werner led the Saints in tackles with 13, his second straight game with double digit tackles. The second round pick out of Ohio State has 25 tackles on the year, third on the team behind Demario Davis and Malcolm Jenkins.

The Saints have a bye week before heading back out on the road for a Monday Night Football match-up against the Seattle Seahawks.

Featured Image Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports