The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a huge game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15. A win puts the Bucs in an even better spot to win their fourth straight NFC South title while a loss, paired with a Falcons win, makes the race to the division title tighter.
Bucs fans didn't like seeing Bucky Irving pop up on the injury report this week because this team will need all hands on deck if they want to best a tough Chargers team and continue toward clinching another division title.
Irving has helped the Buccaneers' run game improve massively this year, dashing for 735 yards and six scores while tallying another 300 receiving yards on the season. Irving has been a wonderful addition to this offense and helps the Bucs take their offense to a whole new level by opening up the run game and not being so predictable.
That's why not having Irving for this game would have been devastating. Fortunately, it appears that even though he's dealing with back and hip injuries, Irving will be suiting up for the good guys when they take on the Chargers.
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving, listed as questionable for Sunday due to back and hip injuries, is expected to play vs. the Chargers, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 15, 2024
Bucky Irving is expected to play vs. Chargers in Week 15
At the beginning of the year, this late-season game against the Chargers probably seemed like an easy win for Bucs fans. After all, the Chargers were only in the first year of the Jim Harbaugh experiment and didn't have an intimidating roster. They've been one of the more surprising teams this season and are going to give the Buccaneers a much tougher game than fans had previously hoped.
Irving being active for the game gives the Bucs one of their best weapons and will allow them to mix things up more on offense. The Chargers defense had a stretch where it was playing really well but that was against bad teams like the Browns and Saints. The Bucs have a much better offense than those two teams and should be able to deal the LA defense fits.