A tough situation forced the New Orleans Saints to give Jameis Winston, not Drew Brees, the starting nod to open the second half against the San Francisco 49ers. The team announced that Brees is officially questionable to return with a ribs injury, and he didn’t take the field on either possession early in the third quarter.
Brees was spotted wearing a padded flak jacket earlier in the game, but a violent sack from 49ers defensive lineman Kentavius Street may have exacerbated the problem. He had been limited on recent injury reports with an issue to his throwing shoulder, so hopefully these are not related problems.
Unfortunately, the Saints need to take a hard look at their approach with Winston running the offense. He was twice pulled out and replaced by Taysom Hill, who failed to convert either of his third down opportunities after a run stuff and a sack. They also needed a timeout to shuffle personnel when Hill stepped in for Winston.
On another day, with more prep time, the two-quarterback system might be more smooth. But in such a high-leverage situation like this it’s vital that they give Winston the keys to the offense and stop taking him out of rhythm.
