Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Five players to watch

Jameis Winston

With a potentially ridiculous compliment of weapons, Winston’s third year in the league could be a monstrous one.

And, due to the onset of Hurricane Irma last week, he’ll get his first real run with his new offense against the Chicago Bears. Based on his past numbers, I’d say he’s probably pretty excited about that.

Winston comes off a season in which he completed 60.8% of his passes for 4,090 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He’s also topped 4,000 yards in his first two seasons, something new quarterback in NFL history has done. So he’s not sneaking up on anyone in terms of his ability to make plays and produce.

Plus, the Chicago Bears got a nice look at some of Winston’s tremendous ability last year in their 36-10 loss to the Buccaneers. And by nice look, I mean that he turned them into a Keystone Cops imitation group on one drive.

This clip tells you the most important thing the Bears must do with Winston: get him on the ground. He doesn’t possess amazing athleticism, but he’s agile enough to make plays with his feet when necessary and too strong to bring down with glancing blows.

And though he does take chances with the football (15+ in first two seasons), just pressuring him isn’t enough to bother him.

Treat him like Ben Roethlisberger or any other big strong quarterback. Don’t arm tackle him or try to throw him. Wrap him up, secure him and get multiple people to help finish him off. Do not let him escape.

Because if he escapes your pressure, there’s a good chance that Evans, Jackson, Cameron Brate or even O.J. Howard will be running around somewhere wide open downfield. And he will find them and break your defense to pieces.

The Chicago Bears already let Matt Ryan escape their clutches and exploit busted coverage down the field Sunday. They’d better not let it happen with Winston, or he’s going to destroy them.