Can you feel it in the air?
3 min read
RB Bucky Irving Returns to Form | courtesy of Bucpower.com
Didn’t we already know this was coming?
Did you happen to watch the double-digit underdog Panthers defeat the red-hot Rams Sunday, 31-28? It was the second time this season the Carolina Panthers had been double-digit underdogs and emerged victorious. Former Buccaneer Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales has got his Panthers playing the best football they have played in years. They are young, talented, and ready to show the world just how far they have come. It wasn’t that long ago that it appeared Bryce Young was a wasted draft pick. Enter the new quarterback whisperer, Dave Canales. The first-time head coach has shown Young the way out of the ashes, and he’s playing his best NFL football to date.
The guard is a-changing in the South Division.
The Buccaneers, in the future, should add clauses to future assistant coaches’ contracts. If you are hired away from the team, you cannot go to another team within the South division. I digress; our Buccaneers are still in first place in the division due to their hanging on win over the Cardinals 20-17. So, for now, the Bucs still control their own destiny. If they win out, they win the division. That winning out will have to include two wins over those improving Panthers. The Panthers also control their own fate due to those two meetings down the stretch. No matter how it all goes down, the Panthers have shown that the South Division is no longer a one-horse show. They have arrived, and they are not going anywhere but up. The two teams are trending in different directions in the big picture. The Bucs, no matter how you want to stack it, are rebuilding. The Panthers are a young team on the rise and are here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Irving’s return is a boost to the offense.
For the first time in many weeks, the opposing team’s defense couldn’t pin its ears back and go after Baker Mayfield. Bucky Irving’s return to the lineup demands that he be accounted for. Irving finished with a somewhat modest 17 carries for 61 yards, but just his presence mixed things up for the recent one-dimensional Bucs. Irving also scored a touchdown in his first game back. Make no mistake about it, if the Bucs hope to have any chance against Carolina, Irving must be healthy and heavily involved in the scheme. Chris Godwin led the receivers with 78 yards on 3 receptions with a long of 31. It was nice to see him contribute in a meaningful way after also missing most of the year with an injury.
Still in it, to win it!
As long as Baker Mayfield is behind center, this team still has a chance to take a 5th division title in a row. They must play as if each game is a season and focus only on each task at hand. Next up are the Saints at home; then the following week, the hapless Falcons come to Tampa. Then the first game with Carolina is at their house, followed by a short ride down south to play a dangerous Miami team, finishing off with a home game against those same Panthers. I myself, like you, am hoping that last game still means something and the Bucs are still playing for the division crown. So, as the Bucs head down the home stretch, let’s all holler out a resounding Go Bucs!!
