Due to Jameis Winston's three-game suspension and Ryan Fitzpatrick's record-setting start to the season, the Buccaneers are entering Week 4 with a quarterback dilemma. Stick with Fitzpatrick after he led the team to a 2-1 start? Or hand the offense back over to Winston, a former No. 1 pick who has been a better quarterback than Fitzpatrick over the course of their careers?

It sounds like Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter has made his decision ahead of their Week 4 game against the Bears. He's told Winston and Fitzpatrick his plan, but he's not going to tell us.

"So I know there's lot of interest in the quarterback thing and I did talk to both Jameis and Fitz and it's great to see Jameis back in the building and he was here early and working hard," Koetter said Tuesday, per the Tampa Bay Times. "We welcome Jameis back. We're glad to have him. Short week. He assured me that he was ready to go, which I don't doubt for a minute that he's been working hard. So we know what we're going to do. Both guys know what we're going to do. I hope everybody can appreciate it, it doesn't do us any good to tell our opponents what we're going to do. That will work itself out as the week goes on. But we do have a plan."

Before the season, it seemed insane that Fitzpatrick would be able to wrestle the job away from Winston, but now it seems more likely that it'll be Fitzpatrick under center against the Bears on Sunday. Fitzpatrick not only led the Buccaneers to wins over the Saints and Eagles before Monday's loss to the Steelers, he also threw for more than 400 yards in three straight games, which had never been done before in NFL history. In all, he's totaled 1,230 yards, 11 touchdowns, four picks, and a 124.8 passer rating. 

Impressively, after a wretched first half on Monday night resulted in a 30-10 deficit, Fitzpatrick brought the Buccaneers back from the dead before falling three points shy of forcing overtime. At the end of that first half, it was Winston who appeared to be favored to start next week. But Fitzpatrick's second half might've been enough to secure his job for at least one more week.

Keep in mind, it'll be a short week of preparation. After playing on Monday, the Buccaneers have to travel to Chicago to face the Bears on Sunday. The Bears, who are also 2-1, boast a defense that's allowed the eighth-fewest points and has tallied the second-most takeaways. Winston hasn't been around the team since the preseason. In other words, it might make more sense to keep the hot hand in there, give Winston more time to acclimate himself, and wait for Fitzpatrick's regression (which is certainly coming) before re-inserting Winston into the starting lineup. After Week 4, the Buccaneers have a bye week, which would make for the perfect time to make a switch -- especially if Fitzpatrick struggles on Sunday.

At some point, Winston needs to play this season, because the Buccaneers need to figure out what the hell they're going to do when his contract expires. To this point, Winston's been maddeningly inconsistent while getting himself into very troubling off-the-field incidents, which led to his suspension, but has also shown signs of year-to-year improvements on the field. 

Tied atop the NFC South with the Saints and Panthers, the Buccaneers need to balance their long-term objectives with their playoff aspirations. Right now, Fitzpatrick is playing better than most quarterbacks. But that won't last forever. When FitzMagic runs out is when they'll probably go back to Winston.