It’s week 8, and Tampa’s running game has left a lot to be desired by fans.
The Bucs have not had a running back run for 100 yards in a game, nor has the team, who use a running back by committee, had a combination of backs even reach the century mark as a whole. Consequently, the Buccaneers have only had two running backs even reach the end zone thus far in the season. The Buccaneers have had to play from behind in several games, which led to having to abandon the running game.
The only time the running game seemed to be established was in the game against the Falcons. However, even then the 100-yard mark was not met between the running backs. With a virtually non-existent running game, the Buccaneers has had to resort to trickery in order to extend plays: End-around and QB sneaks.
The Buccaneers have had issues running the football for the past few seasons, and that had been especially odd, considering the Bucs run-first-pass-later philosophy. For whatever reason, Tampa has struggled to establish and maintain a solid running game, which is likely due to playing design and blocking. Until changes are made, the Buccaneers will continue to be an untraditional running team, and they will suffer in the running game.
All active Buccaneers’ running backs have a combined 341 yards on the ground and only 2 TDs this year. Peyton Barber leads the Buccaneers in rushing with 260 yards on the ground, and Jameis Winston is in second place with 91 yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has not played since the first half of week 4, is third in rushing with 62 yards on the ground.
A sad fact is that non-runningbacks—Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, and DeSean Jackson—lead running backs Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones in rushing TDs 3-2.
