Winston is in at QB for the #Saints pic.twitter.com/wg0HlbIJKR
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 15, 2020
The New Orleans Saints received the opening kickoff of the second half, and they started the possession with a new quarterback under center: Jameis Winston, not Drew Brees. Brees had been limited on the injury report in recent weeks with a right shoulder issue, his throwing shoulder, and he was spotted spending extra time warming it up before the game started.
A big sack by 49ers defensive lineman Kentavius Street appeared to aggravate the issue, and the Saints later announced that Brees is questionable to return with a rib injury..
For his part, Winston stepped in to lead the huddle, though the Saints quickly punted after three plays. Taysom Hill stepped in for a third down run, replacing Winston, but confusion the personnel package forced the Saints to take a timeout and regroup. Hill’s run was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, prompting a punt. Winston completed his lone pass attempt for an 11-yard gain.
When Winston and Hill returned to the bench, they sat apart from Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. while reviewing plays on a Microsoft Surface tablet. Brees was separate a few spots down with his own tablet and wearing a baseball cap, not his helmet.
Jameis Winston is in at QB for the Saints to start the 3rd quarter. pic.twitter.com/jm8SwhLvJL
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 15, 2020
