Ronald Jones’ Role Decreased As Tampa Bay Reaches Super Bowl

Ronald Jones had less carries and snaps then Leonard Fournette in the NFC Championship game.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into frigid Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon and played a complete game to knock off and upset the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game 31-26. With the win, the Buccaneers will be the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl at their home stadium.

Super Bowl LV will feature one former USC Trojan in running back Ronald Jones II, who played in his second consecutive game after missing three of the previous four due to quad and groin injuries. Tampa Bay relied heavily on the former USC star during the regular season, but he struggled and got used sparingly on Sunday against Green Bay, carrying the ball just 10 times for 16 total yards. Furthermore, Jones also didn't receive any targets from quarterback Tom Brady for only the second time all year, as Tampa turned to Leonard Fournette.

Head coach Bruce Arians has always favored a more pass-heavy attack, especially with a QB like Brady behind center. But when the Bucs did choose to run the ball, they went with the fourth-year back Fournette rather than Jones. Fournette had 12 carries for 55 yards and one touchdown in the teams win, as he was the featured back throughout the game. 

Even though Jones had an outstanding regular season as the lead back for the Buccaneers offense with a career-high 978 rushing yards on 5.1 yards per carry over 14 games, Fournette has gotten the bulk of the work in the team's three playoff games. 

Fournette's receiving out of the backfield has been far more superior than Jones, as he's racked up 14 receptions for 102 yards in that category compared to the former second-round pick who has zero receptions in the postseason thus far.

The timing of Jones' injuries probably has a lot to do with the fact that his touches on offense have decreased while his counterparts have increased. Since RoJo was injured towards the end of the year, and had some nagging pain associated with it, coach Arians may believe that Fournette is the better option at the moment, considering he's had the hot hand and has been available for the last six games of the team's seven game win streak.

Even with Fournette’s effectiveness in the pass-happy offense as well as his solid play in the NFC title game, Jones is expected to still have a prominent role in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay. 

Even though his role has been decreased in recent weeks, considering how often Jones was utilized during the regular season, he still has a chance to have a huge impact on Super Bowl Sunday. 

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