The New Orleans Saints have made their minds up. The starting quarterback battle between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill has ended, and according to multiple reports, Winston has been named the winner.

It’s the right decision. The competition between the two totally different signal-callers was a heated one, but Winston separated himself from Hill with an excellent performance in Week 2 of the preseason that saw him complete 9-of-10 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Perhaps more importantly, Winston was incredibly efficient and took good care of the football, something he’s struggled to do in the past.

Credit goes to both Winston and Hill, who have not made this an easy verdict for head coach Sean Payton to reach. Through two preseason games, Winston is a magnificent 16-of-22 with 219 yards while tossing three touchdown passes and one interception. Hill attempted to make a case for himself by completing 19-of-32 passes for 216 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The two exhibition games largely confirmed what many of us already knew: Winston is the more gifted and natural passer and gives the Saints a better chance to win football games in 2021.

Not all is lost for Hill, who will certainly remain a big part of Payton’s weekly game plan as a Swiss army knife that can keep a defense on its toes. Payton has proven that his team is capable of winning football games with Hill at the helm. After all, Hill did start four games at quarterback for the Saints last year and owned a 3-1 record during that stretch. But there’s a difference between keeping things afloat for a few weeks while your starter gets healthy and actually being seen as the guy for the entire duration of the regular season. When Hill was asked to prove worthy of filling that role this summer, his struggles as a true drop-back passer were more evident than ever before.

This is an excellent victory for Winston, who could be on the path to redemption. It’s a sign that maybe the former No. 1 overall pick is getting things back on track after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to move on from him after five tumultuous years together. Winston would surely love nothing more than to “stick it” to the franchise who essentially gave up on him by resurrecting his career with one of their division rivals.

Strap in, folks. Things are going to get wild in New Orleans this season.