Winston’s debut turns to nightmare as Mariota lives the dream Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 14 September 2015 At precisely 1:32 p.m. on Sunday, Jameis Winston walked through a small crowd of cheering fans and into Raymond James Stadium wearing a black suit over a black and tan checked shirt. Out of Winston’s smart phone, and into a pair of black Beats headphones trimmed in gold and tan, the sounds of Kanye West’s “The One’’ poured into the Buccaneers rookie quarterback’s ears. The lyrics proved a harbinger of the day ahead. “I’m the one, baby . . . Best way to describe my position is at the helm. . . Just tryin’ to stay above sea level. . . Yeah, I’m the one, baby.’’ Winston wasn’t the only one. Not on this day. The Bucs sank right along with him, suffering through a 42-14 loss to the Titans in which the cheers that Winston first received from the announced crowd of 63,945 quickly turned to jeers. That’s what happens when the first pass of your career is intercepted and returned 26 yards for a touchdown. Fans turn on you. As the day dragged on, Winston gave them little reason to turn back. He completed only 16 of 33 passes for 210 yards and, while he did throw two touchdown passes, he also threw a second interception, fumbled a handoff and fell down once while dropping back to pass. Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota, the quarterback the Bucs passed on and left for the Titans to take second overall after they selected Winston with the first pick in the 2015 draft, had the kind of day Winston could only dream of. Before leaving the game in the third quarter, Mariota completed 13 of 16 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns, good enough for a perfect quarterback passer rating of 158.3. It was the first time since 1960 a rookie quarterback compiled a perfect rating in his NFL debut, and it left fans on social media wondering if the Bucs hadn’t taken the wrong quarterback. Winston could see why. “When someone plays as great as he did, of course, you’re going to say that,’’ Winston said. “But it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.’’ Winston has a point. After all, Brett Favre, who is expected to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, started his career the same way Winston did, by throwing an interception returned for a touchdown on his first NFL pass. Former Buccaneer great Doug Williams got off to a Winston-like start, as well. As a rookie in 1978, he threw an interception returned for a touchdown on his second NFL pass. He is now slated to be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor later this season. And it’s not like Winston was the first quarterback selected first overall to struggle in his debut. Each of the past eight lost his first career start. And since 1967, only four of the 16 quarterbacks chosen first overall won their debut games. Still, this was nowhere near what Winston or the Bucs envisioned. And it’s not like he was overwhelmed by the scheme and blitzes 78-year-old Titans defensive guru Dick LeBeau threw at him. “Nothing they did really gave us problems,’’ Winston said. “We just didn’t move the ball. You can’t start off bad like we did. You can’t get behind like we did and do that to your defense. That’s why, if I don’t throw that pick, it’s a different game. That first drive just killed us. But we’re going to bounce back. We’ll perform better. I’ll perform better. We just have to put this one behind us.’’ Winston began the process of putting this one behind him about seven hours after he first walked through that gauntlet of cheering fans on his way into the stadium. He did so by walking back through another small crowd of fans, where many of those had slapped hands with on the way in were now offering him words of consolation as he walked past them and into the darkness. Along the way, he met up a few family members and his girlfriend, Breion Allen, in a waiting area adjacent to the players’ entrance. After waiting for him to sign some autographs and pose for pictures with paratroopers who parachuted into the stadium as part of the pregame ceremony, Allen finally walked quietly up to a somber Winston, smiled softly and gave him a hug. After a day that started with so much promise ended with such disappointment, he needed it.