What Jameis Winston told Browns teammates after roller-coaster outing vs. Broncos

Cleveland Browns fans got what Grant Gordon of the NFL's website referred to as "the full Jameis Winston experience" during the team's 41-32 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night. Winston recorded 497 passing yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions (two returned for scores) during the prime-time matchup.

According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Winston revealed after the game that he apologized to his teammates for the avoidable mistakes he made in the defeat that dropped the Browns to 3-9 on the season. 

"It was my fault," Winston explained. "That’s evident. Two touchdowns by the defense, pick-sixes. I’ve been here before. I’ve got to play better." 

Winston's second interception taken to the house for a touchdown occurred when the Browns were trailing by just two points and essentially put the game to bed with 1:48 remaining. He then threw an awful pass into coverage that was picked off with roughly 40 seconds left on the clock.

Football fans have grown to expect such dynamic-yet-frustrating performances from the signal-caller who famously tossed 33 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions during the 2019 season. Winston understandably sounded somewhat dejected while speaking about his outing shortly after Monday's loss. 

"I know I'm better than this," he insisted. "I know. I'm just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. That's not me. A phenomenal game from the offense and do some great things but I messed it up." 

For the second year in a row, Browns fans have warmly embraced a journeyman backup quarterback who thoroughly outperformed starter Deshaun Watson. Watson played poorly this season before he went down with a ruptured Achilles on Oct. 20 but is expected to stay with the Browns through at least next year, as they are essentially stuck with what's left of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract they gave him in March 2022. 

As for the remainder of the ongoing campaign, the NFL website showed on Tuesday morning that the Browns have less than a one-percent chance of making the playoffs. One will never know what could have been for the team had Winston been a bit more cautious in certain situations on Monday night. 

"In front of the whole world, I messed it up for us," Winston added. "In front of the whole wide world, but I'm going to continue to get better and we are going to put this one behind us."

The Browns next play at the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) this coming Sunday. Cleveland defeated Pittsburgh back on Nov. 21, but DraftKings Sportsbook nevertheless listed the Steelers on Tuesday as six-point favorites for the Week 14 showdown held at Acrisure Stadium.