The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped their second game in the last three weeks on Sunday, falling 28-13 to the New England Patriots. For a team viewed as a legitimate NFC contender, these losses give a reality check. One of the key issues holding Tampa Bay back has been the absence of running back Bucky Irving, who continues to recover from a lingering foot injury.
Will Bucky Irving Return in Week 11?
Irving suffered a foot injury in Tampa Bay’s Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, there was hope he could return following their Week 9 bye. Unfortunately, he was unable to return against the Patriots, and it initially sounded like head coach Todd Bowles is ruling him out in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills as well.
On Monday morning, Bowles spoke to the media about the status of both Irving and WR Chris Godwin. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Bowles refused to provide a timeline for when either would be back.
However, on Wednesday, the Bucs surprised everyone when Irving participated in their walkthrough, indicating that he may actually have a chance to play this week.
The Buccaneers have struggled to find balance on offense. Buffalo’s run defense is one of the worst in the NFL, as they allow an average of 147.6 yards per game (28th), so getting Irving back would be huge.
Tampa Bay’s running game has been struggling without Irving, with just 898 rushing yards in total from the team so far this season (sixth-worst in the NFL). According to PFSN’s Offense Impact metric, the Buccaneers have the No. 21 offense in the league.
Veteran Rachaad White has taken over since Irving went down. In the five games White has started, he has tallied 64 carries for 217 yards and three touchdowns. His best game on the ground came in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers when he rushed for 65 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown.
While White has done enough to keep the offense functional, the Buccaneers clearly miss Irving’s burst and ability to create big plays on the ground.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles made pretty clear he did not expect Bucky Irving or Chris Godwin to practice or play Sunday at Buffalo. He said he would wait and see whether Hasson Reddick can practice.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD)
The teams that have had the most success against Buffalo have been able to run the ball on them.
Getting Irving back sooner rather than later could be crucial to the Buccaneers’ hopes of locking up a high seed in the NFC. Keep an eye on the practice reports throughout the rest of the week to see if Irving is able to participate fully.