Has the Bucs' Run Game Finally Found Its Stride?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have developed a lethal rushing attack as of late. But can they keep it going?

Oct 13, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands the ball off to running back Sean Tucker (44) against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

At the beginning of the season, it seemed like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' run game would once again be dead on arrival. Plays were getting stuffed at the line, runs were going nowhere and the offensive line still appeared to struggle in that facet of the offense.

After Week 6, it might be safe to say that isn't the case anymore.

The Bucs demolished their division rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 51-27 last Sunday, and in doing so, put up a monstrous rushing attack. The Bucs put up a staggering 277 yards rushing, with rookie running back Bucky Irving taking 14 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown and second-year RB Sean Tucker taking 14 carries for 136 yards and a score himself. According to Team Rankings, Tampa Bay is now fourth in the league in yards per rush (5.3) and eighth in rush yards per game (136.8).

That's a far cry from where this team was a few weeks ago — and certainly a far cry from the abysmal rushing attack from 2023. And when asked just why this ground game has gotten going, head coach Todd Bowles attributed it to one of the game's most important aspects.

"Just communication," Bowles said. "I mean, the offensive line is going well, Baker [Mayfield] getting us to the right call, the [running] backs making some great cuts and the line doing some very good blocking."

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Quarterback Baker Mayfield "getting us to the right call" is another dimension of this offense that offensive coordinator Liam Coen has brought to Tampa Bay. With plays "in the can" — or plays that Mayfield has the option to check into at the line of scrimmage — Mayfield has more control of the offense, and he's making the right calls to help open up the run game himself.

Mayfield said Thursday that having a balanced offensive attack between passing and rushing is crucial, and that when players like Mike Evans get banged up, the rushing attack can make the offense multi-faceted.

"I’m not really a stat guy but to really look at the numbers and see the type of run game that we had, it was impressive," Mayfield said. "It takes everybody in that group as an offense to be able to run the ball like that and so it was impressive, [and] we have to keep it going.”

Whether or not the run game is truly back online depends on how consistent the run game can be. The Bucs play the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night, and they have the best run defense in the NFL. If Tampa Bay can replicate that success against the Ravens, they'll truly have a ground game going.

But Tampa Bay is on the right track. And according to Tucker, Coen is bringing a new energy to the run game that wasn't there before.

“I would say our mentality has changed and Coach Liam [Coen] coming in and getting everybody right with his system, and a lot of guys up front and our [wide] receivers just have a different mentality when it comes to running," Tucker said. "We’re coming into games trying to run the ball and pressure our opponents.”

That might be the key to keeping this thing going. And if the players continue to buy in and Coen continues to evolve his offense, there's no reason why this Bucs run game can't be for real.

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