Todd Bowles reveals how the Buccaneers will use their running backs in Week 7

For the first time in two years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a run game.

The Bucs have a running back problem, but not the kind we’re used to seeing. Over the last few seasons, Tampa Bay’s run game has consistently ranked at the bottom of the league but that has finally started to change.

Perhaps the biggest twist was that it took Rachaad White, the team’s starting running back, missing a game for things to truly ignite. White had helped light the fuse over the last few weeks alongside Bucky Irving, but the addition of Sean Tucker into the mix saw the run game explode in ways we’ve been waiting two years to see.

Tucker finished last week’s blowout win over the New Orleans Saints with 136 yards and a touchdown while averaging 9.7 yards per carry. That’s absolutely insane given how the Bucs have averaged less than three yards per carry as a team in each of the last two seasons.

All of that has folks wondering how the Bucs will use their stable of running backs moving forward, something Todd Bowles touched on ahead of Monday night’s game.

Todd Bowles says Buccaneers will ride the ‘hot hand’ at running back

He typically keeps things close to the chest, and doesn’t give in-depth answers that reveal his plans, but Bowles still gave some insight into how things will operate moving forward. He noted that if White plays all three running backs will get touches, including Tucker who seems to be locked into the RB3 role moving forward.

This seems obvious, but there’s one piece of fallout that Tucker’s rise will produce. Chase Edmonds returned to Tampa Bay this offseason but was placed on IR before the season started. With Tucker taking over the way he did last week, it seems the writing is on the wall for Edmonds’ future with the Bucs.

As for what happens on Monday night, the Bucs having a repeat of Week 6 is unlikely. Baltimore’s defense is stout, and has one of the best run-stuffing fronts in the league. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has its work cutout, but if White, Irving, and Tucker can turn in a solid performance then it will go a long way in building some important confidence moving forward.

It seems all three guys will get their shot, as the Bucs have gone from having the worst running back problem imaginable to having perhaps the best in the league.

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