Lovie Smith: ‘A typical Jameis Winston day’

It is just a preseason game and Winston isn’t expected to be ideal.

Minnesota is coming off a 14-3 win in the NFL Hall of Fame Game against Pittsburgh last week, getting touchdowns from MyCole Pruitt and Joe Banyard.

Line mostly looked sharp.

Bridgewater went 7 for 8 for 86 yards and backup Shaun Hill finished 8 for 9 for 104 yards and touchdown passes to Cordarrelle Patterson and Adam Thielen, and seven Vikings receivers had two catches apiece in the first half.

The crowd observed a moment of silence prior to the game for Bill Zimmer Sr., who died Tuesday at age 84. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner says he feels Teddy is a top five quarterback.

Saturday night’s debut lined up with what we’ve heard about Winston throughout camp: He isn’t afraid to test the field, throwing aggressively into coverage for a mixture of big plays and ill-conceived lobs. “The week’s been tough”. Frazier, in charge from 2010-13, is now Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator.

Winston started slowly, suffered an interception on his eighth pass but also led the Bucs on a pair of scoring drives – a 32-yard field goal to end the first quarter and Winston’s 8-yard touchdown run with 1:04 left in the half.

On a night that gained national attention as Jameis Winston’s first pro exhibition game, fellow rookie quarterback Taylor Heinicke seemingly improved his stock with Minnesota as the host Vikings beat Tampa Bay 26-16 Saturday night in an exhibition.

The 21-year-old also threw an interception.

Winston has a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

The Bucs could not get a pass rush going today, either with blitzes or with four-man rushes.

Minnesota linebacker Anthony Barr warmed up, but missed his second straight preseason game because of a knee injury.

It was a hot start for the Vikings but a sloppy finish.

He was 9 of 19 for 131 yards, making good decision at times and poor throws at others.

“I thought it was a typical Jameis Winston day”, Smith said. He had 164 carries and 570 yards. Mike James added another touchdown in the third quarter to get to the final score, while the Bucs’ defense struggled to contain the Vikings offense throughout the game.

Zimmer is now 6-0 in the preseason in two seasons. Steelers rookie wide receiver Shakim Phillips made a fine grab over Waynes, and the Vikings’ young star will no doubt look to redeem himself against the Bucs.