Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ronald Jones makes a splash vs. 49ers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started out the 2019 season with a loss but Ronald Jones was a breath of fresh air and may have earned the starting job.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked abysmal on offense in their season opener vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Jameis Winston looked as bad as he could despite playing for a new contract and the Bucs as a whole struggled mightily through the air. The one bright spot on offense for the Bucs was Ronald Jones who looked like his first season woes are all behind him.

Jones had the best stats of all running backs in the game for both teams. His 75 yards on the ground led all backs, as did his 5.8 yards per carry. Jones’ 18 receiving yards were second amongst the Buccaneer running backs behind third down back Dare Ogunbowale. Jones probably could have had a rushing touchdown had he been used more effectively on the goal line but that is still a minor point as he was still electric nearly every time he touched the ball.

To say that Jones had an awful rookie season would be an understatement. Jones had 44 rushing yards on 23 touches, which underscored just how bad Jones played in a rookie season that was marred by injuries and poor offensive line play. Jones was able to shatter his rushing record from last season and has his current average yards per rush is up to 5.8 which is nearly triple where it ended up last season.

Rojo also struggled as a receiver in his rookie season and has reportedly spent the offseason working in that area. While one play is no sample size, Rojo did catch the only pass thrown his way and was able to break off 18 yards on the catch and pick up a much-needed first down. If he aims to be a starter, it would behoove Jones to maintain a high percentage of catching the passes thrown his way.

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Jones was one of the players who impressed the coaching staff the most coming into this season and it has become clear that this was not simply a misdirection. Rojo has bulked up, increased his confidence, and improved his hands in a short period of time. Ronald Jones is here and ready to play up to the caliber that he was drafted to play at in the second round of the 2018 draft.

Jones played so well in this first game that many fans are starting to wonder when he will take the starting reins from Peyton Barber. Barber has performed admirably for the Buccaneers during his tenure and played decent in the game vs. San Francisco as far as efficiency goes, but the Buccaneers gave Rojo more touches and rode the hot hand. If this belief continues, look to see Jones get a larger share of the touches as the weeks go on and he could get the nod as a starter very soon, and deservedly so.

Regardless of who ends up as the starter at running back the Bucs did look very well running the ball in their first game, something that hasn’t been said since the days of Doug Martin. If Bruce Arians can figure out the passing game the running backs will have less pressure and will be much harder to contain. Even if it takes him a full season to play up to his potential, it is good to see Rojo taking steps in the right direction to reach his full potential.