The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found something on the ground Thursday night, and Bucky Irving was right at the center of it.
In a 24-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay leaned on its run game and got exactly what it needed. The Buccaneers piled up 241 rushing yards, scored twice on the ground, and averaged 6.2 yards per carry while consistently creating chunk gains. That kind of production turned the game, and it also set up a clear path for the next week: keep feeding Irving.
Irving delivered the kind of outing that jumps off the page. The third-year back ran for 165 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, then added two receptions for ten yards and another score as a pass catcher. He was hard to square up, slipping tackles and turning ordinary carries into extra yardage.
The blocking helped make it happen. Tampa Bay’s offensive line opened lanes and allowed Irving to get downhill, something the unit had not done as consistently early in the season. The Cowboys also had trouble once contact was made, with Sumer Sports’ Shawn Syed noting that the Buccaneers logged 173 yards after contact on the ground, their best mark of the year and No. 4 in the NFL this season.
For Irving, this looks like a return to the form that made him so dangerous as a rookie. He talked during the offseason about what he took from last year and how he intended to approach this season.
Speaking to Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Garafolo on NFL Network, he said, "I found out a lot about myself last year..." Irving added, "And I came out even stronger."
That message is showing up in the numbers. Through five weeks, Irving has 406 total rushing yards, which ranks eighth in the NFL, and his 5.3 yards per carry ranks seventh league-wide.
Even with just ten games played last season, Irving was productive whenever he was on the field. But this stretch feels closer to the version of him that flashed in 2024, when he posted 1,514 total yards and eight touchdowns while taking over Rachaad White’s role as the RB1.
That explosiveness was part of Irving’s profile coming out of Oregon, and it still shows up every time the ball gets in his hands. He keeps defenders off balance, makes people miss, and squeezes out yards that don’t look there until he’s already past the first wave. According to PFSN’s running back impact metric, Irving was the highest-graded rookie back over the last five seasons at 88.5, ahead of Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tailback Najee Harris at 81.0.
With Pittsburgh next on the schedule, the Buccaneers should have every reason to keep riding the hot hand.
In Other News...
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Prime Videos early TNF numbers have been strong across the board, and the platform has seen its pregame and postgame coverage pick up, too. For the Buccaneers, that matters because games like this do not just shape the immediate conversation around the team, they also keep putting Tampa Bay in front of a bigger audience at a time when the leagues media landscape is shifting fast. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Finally Have Hope But One Concern Still Looms
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The bigger question is still on the defensive side, where the Bucs have looked uneven from drive to drive. There have been some standout individual efforts, but the pass rush and linebacker play remain inconsistent enough to keep the unit from settling in, and that leaves one familiar concern hanging over a team trying to build on its first breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Godwin Just Fueled Growing Bucs Optimism Around Jalon Daniels
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Chris Godwin has become one of the louder believers in Daniels, praising the rookies poise and the way he carries himself in the huddle. The veteran receiver also pointed to Daniels charisma and the kind of positive energy that can spread quickly through a locker room, a promising sign for a Buccaneers team staring at a stretch of games it can realistically use to climb right back into contention. [Read more 🡒]