Tampa Bay Buccaneers looking for more out of run game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were looking at a new backfield this season, with Rachaad White as the workhorse. White had made many big plays throughout his young career and at times looked better than Leonard Fournette in the past, hence why they cut ties with him. However, the ground attack hasn’t been good this year, and their head coach Todd Bowles, believes that White has some improvement.

When asked what he saw from their disappointing run game, he said, “We didn’t have one.” And to be honest, he’s likely correct. The Eagles held the Buccaneers to just 41 total rushing yards, rushing for only one first down all night just to make matters worse. But this issue hasn’t just been in Week 3. It’s been the whole year. They currently rank 27th in the league in total rushing yards, with 234 up to this point. Though they also post a league-worst 2.8 yards per carry. With all this, improvement is on the horizon, yet Bowles believes that some of it falls upon White’s shoulders.

Bowles said, “We’ve got to stay on our blocks a little longer. Obviously, it goes hand in hand. Rachaad has to hit it. I think he tried to make too many big plays when it was a grind-it-out type of game. You’re not going to get big plays on these guys. You’ve got to start hitting it up in there, getting two, three, and four yards and hope you can break one later on.” And it might be unfair to place some of the blame on White, though that’s the reality of the situation for an underperforming rushing attack. Not to mention that he’s rushed for 150 total yards on 48 carries, totaling negative 65 rushing yards over his expected ahead of the season. Still, he’s taking 64 percent of the Buccaneers total rushing yards on the season and has their only rushing touchdown. The run game completely starts and stops with his production.

The interview with their head coach didn’t stop there, as Bowles later critiqued his starter even more. He said, “He probably had too many cuts trying to make an explosive play, something out of nothing, as opposed to taking what they give him. Given the magnitude of the game, knowing it was going to be one of those types of games, just from an experience standpoint he can get better that way and he will.” Now, the Buccaneers have another stiff test against the New Orleans Saints. Their division rivals currently have the 10^th best rushing defense in the league up to this point in the season, which could once again make life difficult for Tampa Bay. However, they might still have the upper hand overall with starting quarterback Derek Carr unexpected to suit up following his shoulder injury against the Green Bay Packers. That means Jameis Winston will make his return, and the Buccaneers would prefer not to fall short when going up against their former franchise quarterback.