A rookie is quickly becoming a household name.
– The Tampa Bay Bucs defeated the Carolina Panthers, 26-23, in overtime, to move to 6-6 on the season and into a tie for first place in the NFC South division.
– Bucky Irving paced the Tampa Bay offense, racking up a season-best 185 yards from scrimmage (152 rushing, 33 receiving), in addition to scoring a rushing touchdown. It was his third game this season with 100+ yards from scrimmage – tied for the second-most such games among rookies this season.
– Irving now recorded consecutive games with 150+ yards from scrimmage – the only rookie to accomplish that feat this season and the first since Miles Sanders in 2019. Over the past 10 seasons, Irving joins Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and Sanders as the only rookies to record consecutive games with 150+ yards from scrimmage. Irving now has the two highest scrimmage yard totals by a rookie this season and has done so in consecutive weeks.
MOST SINGLE GAME YARDS FROM SCRIMMAGE BY A ROOKIE – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team, Opp., Date) Scrim. Yards
1. Bucky Irving (TB, at CAR, 12/1/24) 185
2t. Bucky Irving (TB, at NYG, 11/24/24) 152
2t. Ray Davis (BUF, at NYJ, 10/14/24) 152
4. Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG, at PIT, 10/28/24) 150
5. Brock Bowers (LV, at KC, 11/29/24) 142
– Irving’s 185 yards from scrimmage are the sixth-most by a rookie in team history, and the most since teammate Mike Evans had 209 yards from scrimmage on 11/16/14 vs. Washington. It marked the most scrimmage yards by a Tampa Bay rookie running back since Doug Martin’s 272 yards vs. the Raiders on 11/4/12.
– On the ground, Irving rushed 25 times for 152 yards (6.1 average) and one touchdown. Irving’s six rushing touchdowns this season are tied for the fourth-most by a rookie in franchise history. He currently ranks fourth among all running backs in yards per rush (5.5) and fourth in yards per touch (min. 125 touches).
YARDS PER RUSH LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team) Rush Avg.
1. Saquon Barkley (PHI) 6.1
2. Jahmyr Gibbs (DET) 6.0
3. Derrick Henry (BAL) 5.9
4. Bucky Irving (TB) 5.5
5. Tank Bigsby (JAC) 5.4
YARDS PER TOUCH LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games (Min. 125 Touches)
Rank Player (Team) Yards/Touch
1. Jahmyr Gibbs (DET) 6.6
2. Saquon Barkley (PHI) 6.4
3. Derrick Henry (BAL) 6.1
4. Bucky Irving (TB) 6.1
5. Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG) 5.3
– Among rookies, Irving ranks first in scrimmage yards (1,017), first in rushing yards (732) and tied for first in rushing touchdowns (six).
ROOKIE SCRIMMAGE YARDS LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team) Scrim. Yards
1. Bucky Irving (TB) 1,017
2. Brock Bowers (LV) 895
3. Ladd McConkey (LAC) 815
ROOKIE RUSHING YARDS LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team) Rush Yards
1. Bucky Irving (TB) 732
2. Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG) 619
3. Jayden Daniels (WAS) 590
ROOKIE RUSHING TOUCHDOWN LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team) Rush TD
1t. Bucky Irving (TB) 6
1t. Jayden Daniels (WAS) 6
3t. Bo Nix (DEN) 4
3t. Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG) 4
– Rachaad White carried the ball 11 times for 76 yards (6.9 avg.), including a 38-yard rush that set up Tampa Bay’s game-winning field goal in overtime.
– As a team, Tampa Bay’s 236 rushing yards are the eighth-most in franchise history and the team’s most since rushing for 277 yards vs. the Saints in Week 6. The Bucs are 1-of-4 teams this season with multiple games with 200+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards in the same game (also, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington).
– The Bucs have rushed for 100-or-more yards in 9-of-12 games played this season. Through Sunday’s 4 p.m. games, the Bucs rank seventh in the NFL in rushing yards per game (137.2) and fourth in yards per rush attempt (5.1).
– Tampa Bay totaled 445 net yards of offense on Sunday, marking the sixth time this season that the Bucs have generated 400+ yards of offense, which ranks tied for second in the NFL this season through today’s 4 p.m. games.
MOST 400-YARD GAMES – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Team Games with 400+ Total Yards
2t. Tampa Bay Bucs 6
2t. Baltimore Ravens 6
2t. San Francisco 49ers 6
– Baker Mayfield completed 21-of-33 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown. He ranks third in the NFL in passing touchdowns, with 25, and joined Tom Brady (2020-22) as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to record 25-or-more touchdown passes in consecutive seasons.
PASSING TOUCHDOWN LEADERS – 2024 SEASON
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games
Rank Player (Team) Pass TD
1. Joe Burrow (CIN) 30
2. Lamar Jackson (BAL) 29
3. Baker Mayfield (TB) 25
– Mike Evans led the team with eight receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown. With his yardage total, Evans surpassed both Hines Ward (12,083) and Charlie Joiner (12,146) for the 27th-most receiving yards in league history. He also surpassed the 800 catch milestone for his career, becoming the 41stplayer in league history to record that feat.
– Evans now has 37 career 100-yard receiving games – the fifth-most among active players.
– Evans brought in his seventh receiving touchdown of the season, bringing his career total to 101 receiving touchdowns, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famers Tim Brown and Steve Largent (100) for sole possession of ninth place all-time in league history. Evans now has 102 total touchdowns in his career breaking a tie with Largent for the 22nd-most in NFL history.
– Calijah Kancey notched his sixth sack of the season, and his fifth over the past four games. His 5.0 sacks since Week 9 are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL during that span. His 6.0 sacks are the second-most among players with 350-or-fewer defensive snaps played this season, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson (7.5).
– In overtime, Anthony Nelson forced his first fumble of the season, and the fifth of his career. The fumble was recovered by Yaya Diaby (first recovery of the season, second career) to give the Tampa Bay the ball back and set up the team’s game-winning score.
– Chase McLaughlin converted 4-of-5 field goal attempts in the game, connecting from 26, 27, 30 and 51 yards out. He is now 50-of-54 (94.0%) since joining the Bucs in 2023 – the fifth-highest mark in the NFL during that span.
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADERS – SINCE 2023
Through Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. Games, Min. 25 Attempts
Rank Player (Team) FG%
1. Nick Folk (TEN) 96.0%
2. Cameron Dicker (LAC) 93.5%
3. Harrison Butker (KC) 92.7%
4. Chris Boswell (PIT) 92.6%
5. Chase McLaughlin (TB) 92.6%