Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former NFL coach defends, praises Winston after tough Week 1 loss

Published Sep. 16, 2015 12:42 a.m. ET

foxsports

To say that Jameis Winston's first NFL game didn't go exactly as planned would be a massive understatement. While he was outplayed by the No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota, and the Tennessee Titans routed his Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-14, it seems that Winston is remaining focused.

According to NFL Total Access, former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci reached out to Winston late after the Buccaneers' loss. The outcome? Take a guess.

"I texted Jameis at 1:30AM. He was watching game film. The kid is committed. He'll be better." - @SteveMariucci pic.twitter.com/WOtTgKrYsm
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) September 14, 2015

Yep, Winston was watching game film. At 1:30 in the morning after that tough loss. If that doesn't tell you something about Winston and how badly he wants to succeed, then I don't know what does.

Winston is going to get things turned around, and it's safe to say that Mariucci isn't the only one who believes that.

(h/t @NFLTotalAccess)