Bucky Irving rushed eight times for 45 yards and a touchdown in the Bucs’ Week 1 loss to the Bengals, adding seven receptions for 48 yards.
Irving’s eight carries look bad on paper, but they were a function of the Bucs falling behind 21-3 midway through the second quarter thanks to a deluge of turnovers. That includes a lost Irving fumble where he entered a scrum one-handing the ball. Not good, though he was not punished for the mistake. He ended up tying a career high with his seven receptions, with supposed pass-catching back Kenneth Gainwell catching the ball only one time. Nothing went the way the Bucs drew it up this afternoon, so we would not count on that usage simply carrying over to Week 2, but it is certainly a good start from a usage perspective for those who took the plunge on Irving as their RB2. It is worth nothing that PFF charted Irving as out-snapping Gainwell just 35-26. There’s a long way to go here, but we will have Irving in the top 24 for Week 2 against the Browns.
