Bucky Irving and Tampa Bay Buccaneers receive a shot in the arm hours before kickoff against Falcons
The Buccaneers’ ground attack was electric against the Panthers and Kenny Gainwell played a big role in the performance. He’s expected to play against the Falcons in a crucial Week 8 matchup.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 thanks to a stellar performance from the rushing attack.
It was an all-hands-on-deck effort, too. Bucky Irving led the way with over 100 yards on the ground, but Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker also pitched in with major contributions.
As a matter of fact, Gainwell had his best game as a Buccaneer after a slow start to the season. He finished the day with 88 yards on 14 carries. He was the perfect complement to Irving, giving him a breather while also keeping the ground game on track.
It was the kind of performance that can really help the Buccaneers commit to the ground game moving forward. Kenny Gainwell was initially labeled as the “1B” to Irving’s “1A”, with the idea both would be used about the same in terms of role and total touches.
That’s why the latest news surrounding Gainwell is as important as it is. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Gainwell is expected to play on Sunday after he was listed as questionable on the Buccaneers’ final injury report. He’s been dealing with a hip injury that held him out of practice on Wednesday, but logged a full day of practice on Friday.
As mentioned earlier, that hadn’t really come to fruition over the first six games, but we saw the kind of impact it can have in Week 7 and the Buccaneers would be foolish to go in a different direction moving forward.
Kenny Gainwell can help the Buccaneers stick to their strength
Make no mistake: Irving is the lead back.
At the same time, though, the Buccaneers have to be conscientious of his workload. He’s one of the toughest backs in the league, but it’s not a good idea to have him finishing every game with 25-30 touches. It’ll likely lead to injury at some point and the Buccaneers offense is in big trouble if Irving goes down for any length of time.
That’s where Kenny Gainwell comes in. He can help reduce the injury risk that comes with Irving’s potential workload while also giving the Buccaneers a viable option out of the backfield.
Moving forward, the Buccaneers need to run the ball at least 25-30 times per game. Their only two wins on the year also happen to be their strongest rushing performances and the ground game is easily the most consistent facet of the offense.
16-18 carries for Irving, around 10-12 for Gainwell, and then a handful for Sean Tucker (likely more situational touches than anything) is a perfect mix, when applied appropriately that should work well for the Buccaneers. Especially if the offensive line, receivers, and tight ends block like they did against the Panthers.
The Buccaneers officially have all the pieces to make this happen – so now it’s about getting it done against the Falcons in Week 8.
