5 notes from Bucs at Panthers

5 notes from Bucs at Panthers

1. Bucky Irving powered Tampa Bay’s offense by amassing a season-high 185 yards of offense (152 rushing, 33 receiving) and also scoring a rushing touchdown. It was his third game in 2024 with more than 100 yards rushing – tied for the second-most such games among rookies this season. Irving has now recorded consecutive games with more than 150 yards from the point of attack – the only rookie to achieve that feat this season and the first since Miles Sanders in 2019. Over the last ten seasons, Irving has been alongside Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and Sanders the only rookie to record consecutive games with more than 150 yards from offense. Irving now has the two highest scrimmage yard totals by a rookie this season in consecutive weeks.

2. Tampa Bay’s 236 rushing yards as a team are the eighth-most in franchise history and the team’s most since 277 rushing yards against the Saints in week six. The Buccaneers are 1 of 4 teams in 2024 with multiple games with 200+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards in the same game (including Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington). The Buccaneers have rushed for 100 or more yards in 9 of 12 games this season. Heading into Sunday’s games at 4 p.m., the Bucs rank seventh in the NFL in rushing yards per game (137.2) and fourth in yards per rush attempt (5.1).

3. Mike Evans led the team with eight receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. Evans’ yardage total surpassed both Hines Ward (12,083) and Charlie Joiner (12,146) and ranked 27th with the most receiving yards in league history. He also surpassed 800 career catches, becoming the 41st player in league history to accomplish the feat. Evans now has 37 100-yard receiving games in his career, the fifth-most among active players. On the Bucs’ second possession, Evans capped a 12-play, 63-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown. He made a sensational one-handed grab on a fade in the back corner of the end zone, giving the Bucs a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

4. Calijah Kancey recorded his sixth sack of the year and his fifth in the last four games against Bryce Young. His 5.0 sacks since Week Nine are the fourth-most in the NFL during that span. His 6.0 sacks are the second-most among players with 350 or fewer defensive snaps played this season, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson (7.5). In overtime, Anthony Nelson forced his first fumble of the year and the fifth of his career. The error was recovered by Yaya Diaby (first rebound of the season, second career) to give the ball back to Tampa Bay and set up the team’s winning goal.

5. Chase McLaughlin converted 4 of 5 field goal attempts from 26, 27, 30 and 51 yards in the matchup. Since joining the Bucs in 2023, he is now 50-of-54 (94.0%) – the fifth-highest mark in the NFL during that span.

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