Are Barber and RoJo the Answer to the Bucs Running Game?

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So far this season, Tampa Bay’s running game has been one of the worst in the NFL. According to NFL.com, the Buccaneers’ rushing offense is ranked 31st in the league, second worst, in other words. Last game’s leading rusher was Jameis Winston with 55 yards. Starting running back Peyton Barber only ran for an unimpressive 30 yards on 11 carries. He is still scoreless on the ground and has totaled 260 yards on 74 carries.

Barber did have a very solid showing in week 6 against the Falcons. The week after, however, he struggled again against Cleveland’s bad run defense. As of now, Barber is questionable to play in Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and he simply does not seem to be the solution at running back for the Bucs in the long run.

This is why Tampa Bay drafted Ronald Jones early in the draft this year. Jones struggled mightily in the preseason, averaging less than a yard per carry on 28 attempts. Yet he saw his first regular season action in week 4 against the Bears and has been getting more and more playing time ever since. He even scored his first regular season NFL touchdown against the Browns, which should provide a confidence boost for the former Trojan.

Like Barber, Jones has been statistically unimpressive so far, rushing for a total of 45 yards on 17 carries and scoring one touchdown. Due to Barber’s injury, RoJo has been getting the majority of carries with the first team in practice lately. If Barber cannot play on Sunday, Jones is expected to be the starting running back with Jacquizz Rodgers backing him up.

Hopefully Jones can find a way to leave the slow start of his career behind and break out against the Bengals, who have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league.

What do you think, Bucs fans? Is RoJo the answer at running back for Tampa Bay? Leave a comment.

Go Bucs!

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