Bucky Irving 1,000-Yard Season Watch: Week 13

Rookie running back Bucky Irving has been leading the Bucs in rushing for much of the season, and after his career day in Sunday’s 26-23 overtime win over the Panthers, he’s now closing in on accomplishing something no Buccaneer has done in almost a decade.

Tampa Bay hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2015 when Doug Martin ran for 1,402 yards in what was his second 1,000-yard campaign with the Bucs. Now, thanks to his 152-yard performance against Carolina, Irving is on track to breaking 1,000 yards rushing in his first season in the NFL.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

The 2024 fourth-round pick is up to 732 yards and six touchdowns on 133 carries through 12 games. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and after his first career 100-yard rushing day on Sunday, he now needs only 268 more yards to become the ninth player in franchise history to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a single season. Here’s the list as it stands right now:

1. James Wilder (Twice – 1984, 1985)
2. Doug Martin (Twice – 2012, 2015)
3. Ricky Bell
4. Errict Rhett (Twice – 1994, 1995)
5. Cadillac Williams
6. Reggie Cobb
7. Warrick Dunn (Twice – 1998, 2000)
8. LeGarrette Blount 

So, Irving needs to average 53.6 yards per game over the Bucs’ final five games to reach 1,000 yards. He is averaging 61.0 rushing yards per game this season, and he’s crossed that 54-yard threshold in half of Tampa Bay’s games this season, including each of the last three. And there’s more reason than just that to believe he’ll become the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015.

Bucky Irving Has Become The Bucs’ Lead Back

Rachaad White, who fell just 10 yards shy of rushing for 1,000 yards last year, entered the 2024 campaign as the Bucs’ No. 1 running back. But even though he was getting the majority of the carries at the start of the season, Bucky Irving was cutting into his total pretty heavily from the jump. Eventually, it became pretty close to a 50-50 split. And as of late, Irving is out-snapping White and has frequently been receiving more carries than the third-year veteran.

In fact, Irving was listed atop the Bucs’ depth chart ahead of Week 13. And while his 25-11 advantage in terms of carries in Sunday’s win was less about depth chart positioning and more about riding the hot hand, it’s clear that the rookie has earned the opportunity to lead the way for Tampa Bay’s resurgent run game.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Bucky Irving Carries vs. Rachaad White Carries

Week 1 – 9 vs. 15
Week 2 – 7 vs. 10
Week 3 – 9 vs. 6
Week 4 – 10 vs. 10
Week 5 – 9 vs. 10
Week 6 – 14 vs. DNP
Week 7 – 9 vs. 10
Week 8 – 9 vs. 6
Week 9 – 7 vs. 3
Week 10 – 13 vs. 10
Week 11 – BYE
Week 12 – 12 vs. 12
Week 13 – 25 vs. 11

White has contributed a great deal to the Bucs having a top-10 rushing attack this season in his own right, and there is definitely going to be opportunities for both of the team’s young backs to make an impact during the current playoff push. But odds are, Irving is going to get plenty of carries the rest of the way. Because he’s earned it.

That should set the rookie up well to get those 236 more yards and from there, he may find himself among the franchise’s top-10 all-time single-season rushing leaders. Warrick Dunn’s 1,026 yards in 1998 are currently the 10th-most by a Buc in a single season, and Irving is on pace for 1,037 yards.

Bucky Irving And The Bucs Will Face More Porous Run Defenses

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Bucky Irving’s career game on Sunday came against a Carolina defense that is ranked dead-last in the league. The Panthers are giving up an average of 166.8 yards per game on the ground, and Irving ran for 52 while White added another 76 and Baker Mayfield chipped in eight more.

Irving and the Bucs will see that porous Panthers run defense again in Week 17 when the two teams match up again in Tampa.

In addition to seeing Carolina’s 32nd-ranked run defense, Tampa Bay will face some other run defenses that rank among the NFL’s worst. The next two games on the schedule come against two defenses ranked in the top half of the league – the 11th-ranked Raiders (114.8 yards per game) and the 14th-ranked Chargers (119.4 YPG).

After that, though, Irving and the Bucs finish up the season with three games against bottom-of-the-barrel run defenses. In Week 16, it’s the Cowboys’ (31st, 147.6 YPG). Then comes the rematch against the Panthers before the season finale at home against the Saints (26th, 136.0).

So between an increase in snaps and carries and the remaining defenses the Bucs will face, Bucky Irving’s chances of breaking that 1,000-yard mark are looking strong.