Todd Bowles left Bank of America Stadium with more than a 43-13 win over Carolina on Sunday. He left with a standard.
In the locker room after the rout, the Bucs coach told his team the performance was about more than one good afternoon. Tampa Bay finally showed the kind of physicality, urgency and discipline that had been missing through its 1-5 start, and Bowles made it clear he wanted that edge to stick.
“That’s what team football is all about right there,” Bowles told them. “Run the ball down their throats.
Turnovers on defense. Do a hell of a job covering and on special teams.
That’s what it’s supposed to look like. Now, come (Monday), you can’t lose this attitude.”
That “attitude” showed up most clearly in the run game. The Bucs piled up 258 rushing yards, with Bucky Irving leading the way at 106. Kenny Gainwell added 88 and Sean Tucker chipped in 52, giving Tampa Bay a three-man punch that kept Carolina off balance all afternoon.
The volume was eye-popping, too. Tampa Bay ran the ball 49 times, the third-most rushing attempts in franchise history. The only game with more came in 1979, when the Bucs ran it 62 times in a 3-0 win over the Chiefs in a torrential downpour at Tampa Stadium.
All that ground production left Baker Mayfield with a light workload. He threw only 11 passes, completing seven for 64 yards.
One of those completions was a 14-yard touchdown on a scramble drill to Tez Johnson. That pass total was the third fewest in franchise history.
Irving was more than fine with the workload being spread around. He’s embraced the kind of backfield-sharing that Sunday demanded, and he believes that mindset lifts the whole offense.
“I was always used to that in college where guys were always happy for one another,” Irving said Monday. “Like I always say, that’s where you play your best football at - when you know when you’re going out of the game and you have somebody that’s coming in that’s going to give it their all and have your back and just being your brother’s keeper.
“I feel like when guys care for one another and really want to see guys succeed, we all can succeed in the room. We all are very good backs, so whenever you get your opportunity you’ve just got to take full advantage of your opportunity while you’re in the game.”
Irving’s importance to the Bucs offense is hard to miss. He ranks eighth in the NFL with 558 rushing yards and is tied for 11th with four touchdowns. If he keeps this pace, he’s on track for a career-high 1,355 yards and nearly 10 scores.
That production stands out even more considering he missed seven games last season with shoulder and foot injuries. Bowles pointed to Irving’s mindset as a major reason for the bounce-back.
“I think it starts with his mental toughness,” Bowles said. “Bucky works about as hard as anybody, if not harder than anybody, when he comes in the building.
He is determined to be successful, determined to win. He does all the little things.
He’s very bright. “He can make cuts at full speed.
I think he has that knack that a lot of people don’t have. Other than the toughness, he can make cuts full speed and go one way and then change back to the other, so that kind of sets him apart a little bit.”
Sunday also gave Tampa Bay something it had not shown all season: a backfield where all three runners made real damage.
Tucker broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run, while Gainwell delivered his biggest performance as a Buc. He averaged 6.3 yards on 14 carries after never having more than five carries or 18 rushing yards in any previous game this season.
“We finally saw it,” Bowles said. “You could see it (Sunday).
He went downhill, and he got downhill in a hurry. He makes great cuts.
He’s very tough. He’s very good at protecting the football as well, and he played a heck of a ballgame yesterday.
I thought all three of those running backs did a great job getting downhill and getting yardage.”
For Irving, the edge he plays with comes from somewhere deeper than the stat sheet. The Hillcrest High School product from Chicago’s South Side said he stays hard on himself and draws strength from where he came from.
“I’m very hard on myself. I know where I come from,” Irving said.
“It’s not easy growing up where I’m from, and just being able to give kids back at home hope that it’s possible if you just put your mind to it.“... Sometimes I have self-doubt, and I tell myself I’m not supposed to be here. ...
There is going to be somebody out there that’s always doubting you. So, just being able to know I’m not the biggest guy, people say I’m not the fastest guy, but just being able to know that I’ve got the heart and I truly love this game and I truly love what I do every day.
“So, just being able to have that attitude each and every day. I mean, the process, it can get boring, but you’ve just got to tell yourself you’ve got to stick to this routine.
Like I always say, when I step out there on the green grass, it brings me joy. I love playing football every day when I step out there.”
The Bucs have won two of their past three games after opening 0-4, and if Sunday was any indication, their coach wants the formula to stay simple: run the ball, play physical and keep that attitude.
Next up is the Falcons on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The game will be on Fox and 97.9-FM.
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