The Cleveland Browns may or may not be better with Jameis Winston, but the Steelers’ next opponent is certainly different. And one of the key ways in which they have differed since Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury is in their risk tolerance. Their on-field risk tolerance, anyway, and Steelers DL Cameron Heyward knows they need to exploit that boom-or-bust tendency.
“You lose Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston steps in. He can throw the ball”, Heyward said on his Not Just Football podcast. “You’ve got to be willing to take advantage of those opportunities to intercept the ball. Because he’ll give you some opportunities, but he will also make you pay if you don’t get those”.
Even though the Steelers managed to lose to Dorian Thompson-Robinson last year, they handled the Browns with Deshaun Watson. But they have not faced the Browns with Jameis Winston, whom they signed this offseason as an insurance policy.
A former first-overall pick, Jameis Winston has always been a volatile player. He can throw for 5,000 yards and 33 touchdowns, but that will also come with 30 interceptions. In fact, he has the highest active interception percentage in the NFL at 3.4 percent. And the Steelers are picking off 3.3 percent of the passes they face this season.
“If you look at the Baltimore game, they had clear opportunities to pick off the ball, but they didn’t take advantage and Jameis made them pay”, Heyward said, referring to the Browns’ win over the Ravens in Winston’s first start of the season. “Jameis is very talented. I will never take anything away from another player, and that guy has a lot of success. Because he’s a gunslinger, he takes chances. If you live by that, you die by it”.
Thus far in 2024, Jameis Winston is 89-of-145 passing for 1,045 yards with seven touchdowns to three interceptions. His interception rate is 2.1 percent, which suggests a reversion to the mean. As Heyward referenced, he got away with some against the Ravens. It’s the Steelers’ job to make sure he pays for his mistakes.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jameis Winston has the sixth-highest turnover-worthy play rate this season among qualifying quarterbacks at 4.1 percent. That is seven turnover-worthy plays on 162 drop backs. The Browns have also dropped six passes on him already, so that’s one trend the Steelers hope persists.
Through the first 10 games, the Steelers have 11 interceptions, sixth-most in the NFL. Most of the teams with more have already played 11 games. They have also faced the fewest passing attempts among those with more interceptions. But Jameis Winston is averaging over 44 pass attempts in three starts. That should be good for at least one interception.
