The chorus for Bucs to play Bucky Irving more will only grow louder

TAMPA — Bucky Irving heard the chants. Shortly after his 31-yard run in the fourth quarter Sunday, they rolled like thunder from the top of Raymond James Stadium until reaching the playing field.

Buck-ee! Buck-ee! Buck-ee!

“It was great,” the rookie running back from Oregon said Monday. “It was a great experience hearing the fans chant my name, welcoming me into Tampa. I mean, it’s always a blessing to hear those.”

Irving led the Bucs in rushing with 62 yards on nine carries in their 37-20 win over the Commanders. That was more than the other 15 NFL rookie running backs who played before Monday night combined.

The only question is whether the Bucs see the same things the eyeball test told those fans on Sunday and will join the chorus calling for Irving to become the team’s starting running back.

Of course, Irving has played only one NFL regular-season game.

But watching him since he was drafted in the fourth round in April, there’s a good argument to be made that he should get the bulk of the rushing attempts, while Rachaad White’s biggest strength appears to be as a third-down back catching the football.

In two-plus seasons, White has only two runs of more than 31 yards. Irving added one to his list in his first game.

Though only 5-feet-9, 192 pounds, Irving has the combination of vision, elusiveness, speed and power that will help him survive and thrive in the NFL.

He’s decisive when he gets the football. He almost always makes the first defender miss. He’s explosive through the hole and finishes with physical power.

White did some nice things, too, Sunday, particularly in the passing game. He caught six passes for 75 yards, including a 32-yarder. But his 15 rushing attempts gained only 31 yards, a 2.1-yard average.

It’s one game, sure. But White’s career rushing average is only 3.6 yards per attempt. That’s after a pretty good sample size of 416 carries.

Irving wasn’t surprised by his success in his debut.

“It’s always great to contribute for the team,’” he said. “I mean, we had a good week of practice leading up to the game, but I always feel like you’re going to practice how you play. I had a decent week of practice and tried to translate all my runs into the game, so I pretty much felt good out there.”

Head coach Todd Bowles was pleased with Irving’s performance, but he’s not ready to make a lineup change at running back.

“The eyeball test tells me we’re going to need both of them this season,” Bowles said. “And the hole has got to be there for Rachaad. At the same time, it opened up later in the game for Bucky, but that doesn’t mean Rachaad is playing bad. Rachaad had a lot of receptions, he had some yards receiving-wise, so it kind of worked out for us and we had a good 1-2 punch, and we’re going to need both of them for the whole season.”

Of course, Bowles is right. The running back position is too physically demanding to survive with only one running back.

If anything, White has been overworked his first two seasons, logging an astounding 322 touches last year. When you’re 6-feet-1, 214 pounds, you take a lot of hits.

He’s also incredibly active in the community and one of the most popular players on the team.

White has been a good teammate, helping Irving and second-year pro Sean Tucker adapt to new coordinator Liam Coen’s offense.

The Commanders are tough to run the football against, with Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen sitting in the middle at defensive tackle.

“Hat’s off to Washington, too,” White said. “They did a lot of different things to switch it up for us. But I think Liam did what he did. He made great play calls at the right times. Me and Bucky were just going out there piggy-backing off each other and just running hard.”

In the NFL, special players show up right away. The Bucs have their own examples: Warrick Dunn. Cadillac Williams. Even Doug Martin, the last Tampa Bay player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, exploded onto the scene with 1,454 rushing yards and 11 TDs as a rookie in 2012.

Irving has a long way to go and much to learn.

“I see at this level, you’ve got no time to pitter-pat your feet,” he said. “You’ve got to hit (the hole) when you see it. I pretty much go by that. You’ve got to trust what you see. ... When I get the ball, I trust what my eyes see, and I hit the hole.”

Will the Bucs in time trust what the fans see?

The chants for Buck-ee! will only grow louder.

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