In Week 1, Jameis Winston was one of the best quarterbacks in the league, completing 23 of 32 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week and has been nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Week.
In the Buccaneers' victory over Atlanta, Winston connected on a handful of deep passes, including a 45-yard touchdown to Mike Evans. He finished the game averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt, which were the third-most of any NFL quarterback in the first week of the season.
While Winston had success pushing the ball downfield, he said his focus is on simple completions, not forcing big plays.
"Coach Bajakian and Coach Koetter, they just try to squeeze it out of my mind to just check it down, but Coach Bajakian really emphasizes just completing the football. Whether it's a check-down or whether it's a deep ball or whether it's an intermediate route, the more times we complete the football and the more times we're accurate completing the football we're going to have success."
](http://www.buccaneers.com/news/article-1/Jameis-Winston-Up-for-Air-Player-of-the-Week/5466214f-f9bd-4d62-b9d2-9c2845f139f1)Sunday's game against Atlanta was proof that Bajakian's plan for Winston can be successful. At the end of the first half, with the Buccaneers trailing, Winston dumped a short pass off to Charles Sims, who broke several tackles en-route to the end zone. The score put the Buccaneers up heading into halftime, a lead they would hold for the rest of the game.
"Just put the ball in the area," Winston said. "Those guys are superstars. They are paid to go up there and get the football, I just have to give them a chance. That's what Coach Koetter says all the time – just give them a chance. We see with Chuck (Sims), that's a three-yard pass that turned into a 25-yard run. When you put the ball in guys that actually run for a living and catch for a living – when you put the ball in their hands, crazy things can happen."
Winston and the Buccaneers' offense had success through the air in Week 1, but will face a tough test when they travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals on Sunday. Arizona boasts one of the most talented secondaries in the league, led by Pro-Bowlers Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu.
