Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith has revealed that he was pleased with the performance of quarterback Jameis Winston in their pre-season opener.

The first overall pick in the 2015 Draft played the entire first half of their defeat to the Minnesota Vikings and completed nine of his 19 passes, rushing for one touchdown, although he was also intercepted by Antone Exum.

"He threw some good balls at the end," Smith told reporters. "Pretty good decisions. We'd like to have that one interception back, but I thought he threw some pretty good balls.

"That's what you judge your quarterback on, decision-making. For the most part, I think it was pretty good."

The Buccaneers open their 2015 season against the Tennessee Titans on September 13.