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Jameis Winston, Buccaneers Beat Baker Mayfield, Browns on Late FG
August 24, 2019
Both Baker Mayfield and Jameis Winston played the first half in Friday night's Week 3 preseason matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Matt Gay nailed a 21-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining to give the Buccaneers a 13-12 victory at Raymond James Stadium. But it was the defenses that impressed the most.
Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett only played one drive, starting the game for Cleveland and recording a tackle, but the Browns' first-team pass rush made a statement.
On the Bucs' opening drive, starting quarterback Jameis Winston was sacked twice—once courtesy of Olivier Vernon and the other time from Sheldon Richardson:
Winston was sacked five times, with Denzel Ward and Christian Kirksey getting in on the action before a second one by Vernon. Friday marked the second consecutive week his first-team offensive line was outplayed, and he only went 9-of-19 passing for 88 yards:
The 2015 top overall pick did connect four times for 52 yards with Chris Godwin, including this 15-yarder:
It wasn't until midway through the second quarter that Tampa's defense got to Mayfield. Rakeem Nunez-Roches—who ended the contest with two QB takedowns—sacked the 2018 top overall pick on 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line for a loss of eight. As a result, Cleveland was held to its third field goal of the half from Austin Seibert.
Mayfield's evening ended by tossing an interception to second-year safety Jordan Whitehead. In his longest start of the preseason, the 24-year-old 2017 Heisman Trophy winner was 10-of-26 passing for 72 yards, no touchdowns and a pick. Starting skill-position players Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, David Njoku and Nick Chubb were not at his disposal.
Drew Stanton replaced Mayfield after the break, while Blaine Gabbert came in for Winston. The 29-year-old Gabbert's outing was shortened by a shoulder injury suffered on an eight-yard scramble.
He was replaced by Ryan Griffin, who produced the game's lone touchdown with a 20-yard pass to tight end Jordan Leggett with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter:
The Browns notched seven sacks as Devaroe Lawrence added two in the second half:
Garrett is undoubtedly the leader of the Browns pass rush, but he has seen limited action in the preseason.
What's Next?
Both teams will have their last preseason games Thursday. The Buccaneers (2-1) are traveling to Dallas to take on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, while Cleveland (2-1) will host the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium.