Buccaneers vs. 49ers: Giving out game balls, rather skulls and planks

TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 08: Ronald Jones #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 08: Ronald Jones #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 08: Ronald Jones #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 08: Ronald Jones #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushes during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Skull: RB Ronald Jones

The Ronald Jones that was seen in Sunday’s 31-17 loss is the version that the Buccaneers had hoped to have saw last season when they drafted him with the 38th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Instead he tallied just 48 rushing yards last year and looked like a total bust…until Sunday.

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Jones led the team in rushing yards during the loss to the 49ers, and looked explosive after adding 13 pounds of muscle this offseason. He outplayed Peyton Barber, and now will more than likely see the starting role in his hands on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.

Rushing 13 times for almost 80 yards, Jones showed promise in this new system and proved why the Buccaneers drafted him in the second round one year ago. Twitter was buzzing about how productive of a day Jones had, and even head coach Bruce Arians stated he was going to ride the hot hand at his postgame press conference.

“I thought he had a lot of energy. He was hitting it, and that is something we can really build off of. I was really happy with the running game” (Arians via Twitter). Jones wins the first offensive skull of the 2019 season with his strong showing in week one of the 2019 season.

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