Rookie operating again Bucky Irving has been main the Bucs in speeding for a lot of the season, and after his profession day in Sunday’s 26-23 extra time win over the Panthers, he’s now closing in on carrying out one thing no Buccaneer has finished in nearly a decade.
Tampa Bay hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2015 when Doug Martin ran for 1,402 yards in what was his second 1,000-yard marketing campaign with the Bucs. Now, due to his 152-yard efficiency towards Carolina, Irving is on observe to breaking 1,000 yards speeding in his first season within the NFL.
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Picture by: USA Right this moment
The 2024 fourth-round decide is as much as 732 yards and 6 touchdowns on 133 carries by way of 12 video games. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry and after his first profession 100-yard speeding day on Sunday, he now wants solely 268 extra yards to turn out to be the ninth participant in franchise historical past to succeed in the 1,000-yard speeding mark in a single season. Right here’s the listing because it stands proper now:
1. James Wilder (Twice – 1984, 1985)2. Doug Martin (Twice – 2012, 2015)3. Ricky Bell4. Errict Rhett (Twice – 1994, 1995)5. Cadillac Williams6. Reggie Cobb7. Warrick Dunn (Twice – 1998, 2000)8. LeGarrette Blount
So, Irving must common 53.6 yards per sport over the Bucs’ remaining 5 video games to succeed in 1,000 yards. He’s averaging 61.0 speeding yards per sport this season, and he’s crossed that 54-yard threshold in half of Tampa Bay’s video games this season, together with every of the final three. And there’s extra motive than simply that to consider he’ll turn out to be the group’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015.
Bucky Irving Has Develop into The Bucs’ Lead Again
Rachaad White, who fell simply 10 yards shy of speeding for 1,000 yards final 12 months, entered the 2024 marketing campaign because the Bucs’ No. 1 operating again. However despite the fact that he was getting nearly all of the carries initially of the season, Bucky Irving was reducing into his complete fairly closely from the soar. Ultimately, it turned fairly near a 50-50 break up. And as of late, Irving is out-snapping White and has incessantly been receiving extra carries than the third-year veteran.
In actual fact, Irving was listed atop the Bucs’ depth chart forward of Week 13. And whereas his 25-11 benefit when it comes to carries in Sunday’s win was much less about depth chart positioning and extra about using the recent hand, it’s clear that the rookie has earned the chance to paved the way for Tampa Bay’s resurgent run sport.
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Picture by: USA Right this moment
Bucky Irving Carries vs. Rachaad White Carries
Week 1 – 9 vs. 15Week 2 – 7 vs. 10Week 3 – 9 vs. 6Week 4 – 10 vs. 10Week 5 – 9 vs. 10Week 6 – 14 vs. DNPWeek 7 – 9 vs. 10Week 8 – 9 vs. 6Week 9 – 7 vs. 3Week 10 – 13 vs. 10Week 11 – BYEWeek 12 – 12 vs. 12Week 13 – 25 vs. 11
White has contributed an important deal to the Bucs having a top-10 speeding assault this season in his personal proper, and there’s undoubtedly going to be alternatives for each of the group’s younger backs to make an influence in the course of the present playoff push. However odds are, Irving goes to get loads of carries the remainder of the best way. As a result of he’s earned it.
Bucky Irving over the past three video games:
🏴☠️ 62 touches🏴☠️ 424 yards🏴☠️ 3 TDs🏴☠️ 72.4 PPR factors pic.twitter.com/OgfW1AEMXF
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) December 2, 2024
That ought to set the rookie up effectively to get these 236 extra yards and from there, he could discover himself among the many franchise’s top-10 all-time single-season speeding leaders. Warrick Dunn’s 1,026 yards in 1998 are at present the Tenth-most by a Buc in a single season, and Irving is on tempo for 1,037 yards.
Bucky Irving And The Bucs Will Face Extra Porous Run Defenses
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Picture by: USA Right this moment
Bucky Irving’s profession sport on Sunday got here towards a Carolina protection that’s ranked dead-last within the league. The Panthers are giving up a mean of 166.8 yards per sport on the bottom, and Irving ran for 52 whereas White added one other 76 and Baker Mayfield chipped in eight extra.
Irving and the Bucs will see that porous Panthers run protection once more in Week 17 when the 2 groups match up once more in Tampa.
Along with seeing Carolina’s Thirty second-ranked run protection, Tampa Bay will face another run defenses that rank among the many NFL’s worst. The following two video games on the schedule come towards two defenses ranked within the high half of the league – the Eleventh-ranked Raiders (114.8 yards per sport) and the 14th-ranked Chargers (119.4 YPG).
After that, although, Irving and the Bucs end up the season with three video games towards bottom-of-the-barrel run defenses. In Week 16, it’s the Cowboys’ (thirty first, 147.6 YPG). Then comes the rematch towards the Panthers earlier than the season finale at dwelling towards the Saints (twenty sixth, 136.0).
So between a rise in snaps and carries and the remaining defenses the Bucs will face, Bucky Irving’s possibilities of breaking that 1,000-yard mark are trying sturdy.
