Bucky Irving prepares to make a move against Dallas.
Do the Bucs win that game in Dallas on Thursday night without Bucky Irving? Unlikely.
Bucky had a big night at a perfect time. Bucky being able to carry the mail sure kept a load of pressure off of rookie Jalon Daniels, making his second start of his career, on national steaming no less.
Grant Gordon of NFL.com had some cool intel about Bucky. Per NextGen Stats, on Bucky’s 72-yard run, the second-longest of his career, he actually ran 90 yards, in part, to all the zig-zagging he made in the backfield dodging would-be tacklers.
And also, Bucky hit a top speed of 20.43 mph on that run. That’s moving.
Big night for Bucky. Jalon Daniels was the feel-good story for Tampa, but Bucky Irving was the engine driving them. Irving was stellar to the tune of a career-high 165 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. Unbelievably, it was the third-year back’s first career game with multiple touchdowns (5-yard TD catch in second quarter, 1-yard run in third quarter). His biggest play was the NFL’s second-longest rush of the season in which he wiggled around some shoddy Cowboys tackling for a 72-yard run on the opening play from scrimmage in the second half. …
If Irving can hit his stride against defenses of a better ilk than the Cowboys’, it bodes huge for the Bucs.
This would be huge for the Bucs. Again, look how much pressure Bucky balling out took off of Daniels. As much as we all may like Daniels and as great of a story that he is, he’s still a green-as-grass rookie. Every team in the NFL passed on him seven times in the draft for a reason.
If Bucky can run anywhere close to what he did in Dallas in future games, that will not just help Daniels, but it will help Baker Mayfield when he comes back (maybe as early as next Sunday).
Let’s be real, Mayfield has had a rough start to the 2026 season. Then he dislocated a thumb in his throwing hand. What better way for a quarterback to ease back into the flow of things and get back to his norm than to lean on a stud running back to carry the offense?
THIS ANGLE OF THE BUCKY IRVING RUN FROM PRIME VISION IS ONE OF THE GREATEST VIDEOS YOU WILL EVER WATCH.
THIS IS ABSURD.
😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/Te3M8PkFEs