7 winners (and 2 losers) from Buccaneers impressive win over Chargers

Winner: Bucky Irving, RB

Another week and another wildly impressive performance for Bucky Irving. The rookie has been a revelation out of the backfield, and might be in the Rookie of the Year lead in any other year that didn't include Jayden Daniels.

Every week it seems he's good for some insane play, and he didn't disappoint against the Chargers.

For the second time in three weeks, he finished with over 100 yards of rushing and is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season. Bucky is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, which is almist unfathomable considering what the run game has looked like over the last few seasons.

What's even more exciting is how all-purpose his success has been. He's averaging 7.8 yards per catch, which includes Sunday's total, where he finished with -4 yards receiving. Everything about the Bucs offense has been excellent this season, but it's hard to argue anything being more impressive -- or downright fun -- than what Bucky has been able to do.

Loser: Graham Barton, OL

While Bucky Irving and Jalen McMillan had great days, the same couldn't be said for another fellow rookie. Graham Barton has put together a very respectable first season, but he's prone to making some pretty bad mistakes at the wrong time.

That was the case a few times on Sunday when he was flagged for penalties that brought back otherwise impressive plays. He was called for holding in the third quarter which brought back a 17-yard scramble by Baker Mayfield, and ruined a nice catch by Jalen McMillan earlier in the game while also holding.

He's been a huge boost to the offensive line and clearly has a bright future in Tampa Bay, but Barton can't afford to keep making these rookie mistakes -- especially in the playoffs.

Winner: Jamel Dean, CB

It's been easy to get on Jamel Dean for usually being on the wrong side of some big play, but he stepped up in all the right ways on Sunday. The peak of his afternoon came in the third quarter when his interception slammed the door shut on the idea of Los Angeles trying to get something going in order to mount a comeback.

It's been a rough season for Dean, who has battled poor play and injuries, but Sunday was a prime example of what we all expect out of him. He can be a top cornerback when he's playing up to expectations and his big game came at exactly the right time for the Bucs' defense.

Winner: Todd Bowles, HC

Ever since the Buccaneers fell into a 1-6 slump last season there have been calls from fans for Todd Bowles to be fired. The dial got turned up on that noise when the Bucs lost four straight games earlier this season as the defense struggled and the offense soared.

It was easy math for frustrated fans to do: subtract Bowles and replace him with Liam Coen, who might end up getting poached this offseason for a head coaching job elsewhere.

Bowles deserves a lot of the criticism that has been directed his way, but Sunday was a reminder of how well-coached this team is under the surface. He's been playing without some of his key players on defense all season yet has turned things around on that side of the ball in ways we didn't see coming based on how things are going.

The Chargers are a good team and one of the most quality opponents the Bucs have played all season. To hold Herbert and the offense to just 17 points -- and zero in all of the second half -- with a defense that's missing Antoine Winfield Jr., two starting linebackers, and two other safeties, is an insane endorsement of the job Bowles has done.

He's been rightfully criticized for a lot of the things that have gone wrong, but he absolutely deserves his flowers for the job he did on Sunday. Not only did his patchwork defense shut down the Chargers, but he was able to effectively adjust things at halftime to help produce the sort of second half we saw out of the team.

Then again, finding ways to adjust and have incredible second halves seems to be what Bowles specializes in.

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