Jameis Winston struggles in two quarters of play against Vikings

ByPat Yasinskas ESPN logo
Sunday, August 16, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS --Jameis Winston's NFL debut couldn't have gotten off to a much slower start against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night.

The Tampa Bay rookie quarterback struggled mightily while playing the entire first half. Winston played the first half and the Bucs weren't able to generate much offense.

The top overall pick in the draft, Winston completed nine of 19 passes for 131 yards with one interception. His first three passes were incomplete and the only thing approaching a highlight was a 40-yard completion to Vincent Jackson. Winston also fumbled a snap.

But his biggest mistake of the night was an interception to Antone Exum that set up a Minnesota touchdown. Interceptions have been a problem for Winston, who has thrown eight so far in training camp.

Winston did lead the Bucs on a touchdown drive against Minnesota's second-team defense at the end of the second quarter. He scored on an 8-yard scramble.