3 things the Saints need to do during the BYE week to keep winning

1. Trust Jameis Winston

In Week 1 against the Packers, Jameis Winston threw for five touchdowns leading to a 38-3 upset win for the Saints. That one game was all it took for Winston to prove Sean Payton and the rest of the coaching staff right for giving him the starting quarterback job over Taysom Hill.

In the blowout, the Florida State product had only 20 attempts for 148 yards., marking one of the more unique five touchdown performances in history. However, against a tough Panthers defense the next week, he went scoreless and tossed two picks.

The book on Winston has been, he can be really good but also convincingly bad — that’s cemented by his 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions mark he set in 2019. But, with 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions entering into this season’s bye week, Winston has been much better than he’s been in recent years. And he’s done all this without his two best receiving options in Thomas and Smith.

He hasn’t picked up the massive yards that he’s been accustomed to but he has thrown a lot of beautiful balls for scores. Despite all of this, it still feels like he’s handicapped — that for some reason, Payton is still hesitant to let him take full control of the offense. Until last week’s win against Washington, he hadn’t had 30 passing attempts in a game.

Hill has played 38% of the team’s offensive snaps and while his versatility warrants him being on the field, Winston may be hindered from playing his brand of football with Hill’s constant presence.

But Winston won the job. He should have full confidence from his coach and team to lead this team without any distractions. He’s done just fine up to now with the training wheels — it’s time to unleash him.