Rookie Bucky Irving is relishing the opportunity to help the Buccaneers in any way he can against the slinging Raiders

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bucky Irving isn’t picky.

The rookie running back welcomes any opportunity to contribute to the success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have recovered from a tough stretch and climbed back into first place in the NFC South.

Irving leads NFL rookies in rushing with 732 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry, while sharing the workload with starter Rachaad White and third-stringer Sean Tucker, who have teamed up to take some of the pressure off quarterback Baker Mayfield .

Irving, a fourth-round draft pick out of Oregon, rushed for a season-high 152 yards and a touchdown in a 26-23 overtime win against the Carolina Panthers last week.

He had an additional 33 yards receiving, giving him a rookie lead of 1,017 total yards from scrimmage in 12 games.

The Bucs (6-6) host the Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) on Sunday, who have a standout signing in Brock Bowers, who is on pace to break the league record for catches by a rookie tight end.

Bowers leads all players, regardless of position, with 84 receptions. He is fourth in receiving yards with 884 and second behind Irving among rookies with 895 total yards from scrimmage.

“I don’t really like taking all the credit. It’s those guys up front,” Irving said, pointing to Tampa Bay’s improved offensive line. “I think I have to do something special for these guys for Christmas because they are doing their jobs.”

The Bucs are eighth in the NFL with 137.2 yards per game. They have gained more than 100 yards on the ground in nine of 12 games after doing so just nine times in 34 games over the past two seasons.

Irving, whose ability to make defenders miss and accelerate in the open field, has provided spark to an offense that faltered during a four-game losing streak without injured wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

It doesn’t seem to bother the rookie that he’s still behind White on the depth chart. The starter made a 38-yard run in overtime last week to set up the game-winning field goal.

Coach Todd Bowles continues to emphasize that the Bucs, who are tied for the lead in the NFC South with Atlanta, need both Irving and White to be successful.

“In our room, all of our success is one,” said Irving, who over the past two weeks became the first rookie since Miles Sanders in 2019 to string together consecutive games with more than 150 yards rushing.

“When I succeed,” Irving added, “everyone in the room succeeds.”

Ready for a challenge

Tampa Bay’s porous supporting cast will be tested by Bowers, the first tight end to lead the league in catches after Week 13 since Todd Christenson in 1986.

The first-round draft pick from Georgia needs three receptions to break Sam LaPorta’s single-season record (86 in 2023) for catches by a tight end. He is just 116 yards away from joining Mike Ditka (1,076 in 1961) and Kyle Pitts (1,026 in 2021) as the only rookie tight ends with over 1,000 yards receiving.

“I thought he was one of the best tight ends in a long time — not just in this draft but in a long time,” Bowles said.

“He lives up to expectations. He can play wideout, he can play tight end, he can play some fullback, he can run jet sweeps,” the Bucs coach added. “They do a lot with him and he’s a very talented guy.”

Prepare for Baker

The last time the Raiders faced Mayfield was two seasons ago when he stepped off a plane to play for the Los Angeles Rams.

Despite having little time with the playbook and only a short practice, Mayfield led the Rams to a 17-16 victory with a 23-yard touchdown pass with ten seconds left.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was the team’s linebackers coach at the time.

“He plays the game a little bit like Brett Favre, who I played against in the league,” Pierce said. “He’s very fiery. He will do anything to make a play. For him the piece is never over. You have to keep an eye on him and then stay behind cover, so that’s going to be a challenge.”

Back to the action

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell didn’t look like he missed nearly six weeks with a broken thumb when he nearly led Las Vegas to a win at Kansas City last week.

In the Raiders’ 19-17 loss to the Chiefs, he completed 23 of 35 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns.

But it was hard for O’Connell to see the positive considering how close the Raiders came to beating the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.

“Definitely some good pieces, but it just stinks more than anything,” O’Connell said. “It was just a really tough loss. Even sometimes if you have a game right after, it’s easier to move on. But we had a longer week this week so we really had to lean into it and it’s not fun.”

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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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