INTRO: The 3-5 Bucs will face their biggest test of the year against their best opponent, the 6-2 Bears, on Sunday Night Football in Chicago. Will Bucky Irving and the Bucs continue their run into the record books against the league’s fourth-ranked rushing attack? Will the Bucs be able to throw the ball if they have to in the Windy City? Can Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum have a breakout performance in primetime and get into the Pro Bowl conversation?

I’ll explore these questions in this week’s SR’s Fab 5 – and we’ll have our answers on Sunday night in a must-see game in Chicago. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Bucky Irving, Bucs Are Running For More Records

The Bucs are on quite a run this year, aren’t they?

No, I’m not talking about the team’s 3-5 record. After a pitiful 0-4 the team still has quite a bit of catching up to do.

I’m talking about Tampa Bay’s suddenly dominant ground game that began to emerge with a 241-yard outburst at Dallas and continued with 258 yards rushing at Carolina and then a franchise-record 324 yards versus Atlanta.

The Bucs are now atop the league in rushing yards, averaging 168.6 yards per game. If this pace continues, which it likely won’t, the Bucs would finish the year with 2,866 yards rushing.

That would smash the all-time franchise rushing record set in 2024 with 2,536 yards under previous offensive coordinator Liam Coen. That year, the Bucs ranked third in rushing in the NFL, averaging 149.2 yards per game.

Even if Tampa Bay averages just 140 yards per game over the remaining nine games, the Bucs would finish with 2,609, which would still break that 2024 record.

And speaking of records, Bucky Irving is currently on pace to break James Wilder’s single-season franchise record of 1,544 yards, which was set in his lone Pro Bowl season in 1984.

Bucs’ Top 5 Single Season Rushing Yardage Leaders

James Wilder – 1,544 yards in 1984
Doug Martin – 1,454 yards in 2012
Doug Martin – 1,402 yards in 2015
James Wilder – 1,300 yards in 1985
Ricky Bell – 1,263 yards in 1979

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Irving has rushed for 728 yards on 147 carries (5.0 avg.) with five touchdowns this season. Averaging 91 yards per game, Irving is on pace to rush for 1,547 yards, which would narrowly eclipse Wilder’s long-standing record. Of course, Irving will have the benefit of playing in a 17-game season, whereas Wilder, Martin and Bell all played in 16-game seasons during their Buccaneers careers.

Irving ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards this year, just behind Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (780), Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs (773) and Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker III (770). His 3.83 yards after contact mark is fourth-best in the NFL and he ranks third in the league with 31 missed tackles forced.

The Bucs also have a chance to break the franchise team rushing touchdown record this year. Tampa Bay has nine rushing scores and is on pace to hit 19 TDs on the ground this year. The team record is 18 rushing touchdowns, which was set in 2000 (Warrick Dunn had eight) and tied in 2021 (Leonard Fournette had eight).

Bucs RB Kenny Gainwell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

We’ll see how the rest of the 2026 season plays out, but after Week 11 at Detroit, which will be without middle linebacker Jack Campbell due to a scary neck injury, the Bucs don’t face a top 12 rushing defense for the rest of the year.

Remaining Bucs Opponents’ Run Defense Rankings

Week 9 at Chicago – 4th (86.8 avg.)
Week 10 Bye
Week 11 at Detroit – 9th (96.6 avg.)
Week 12 vs. Carolina – 30th (140.7 avg.)
Week 13 vs. L.A. Chargers – 23rd (124.6 avg.)
Week 14 at Baltimore – 13th (102.8 avg.)
Week 15 vs. New Orleans – 29th (139.4 avg.)
Week 16 at Atlanta – 18th (118.3 avg.)
Week 17 vs. L.A. Rams – 14th (109.3 avg.)
Week 18 at New Orleans – 29th (139.4 avg.)

In fact, they’ll have four more games against three of the league’s worst-ranked run defenses in the Chargers, Panthers and Saints (twice). So don’t be surprised to see Tampa Bay make a legit run at the record books down the stretch.

Pun intended.

FAB 2. Zac Robinson Deserves A Lot Of Credit During Bucs’ 3-1 Stretch

Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson came under fire from yours truly, Pewter Report, other media outlets and fans for Tampa Bay’s inept offense early in the season as the team started the 2026 season with a shocking 0-4 record. The Bucs’ passing game featured too many screen passes that went nowhere and short routes that picked up virtually nothing.

No team that completes two passes in a row should face third-and-5, but that’s what would happen too often after a 2-yard reception to Chris Godwin Jr. and a 3-yard catch by Emeka Egbuka. Not to mention, the Bucs passed the ball 2:1 times versus the run in virtually all of the team’s losses. And Tampa Bay didn’t have to do that in at least two games – versus Cleveland and Pittsburgh – as the team had a fourth-quarter lead in both contests.

Then came the Cowboys game on Thursday Night Football and the scouting report said to lean into the run against Dallas’ horrible run defense. With rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second career start – and on a short week – Robinson did just that. Tampa Bay’s offensive line, tight ends and receivers responded with 241 yards rushing in 24-16 upset, led by Bucky Irving’s 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The Bucs didn’t have the same level of success against Pittsburgh on the ground in 26-19 loss in overtime the next week against a much more formidable defense, but Robinson leaned back into the ground game the following week at Carolina and the O-line, tight ends and receivers paved the way for Irving’s second 100-yard game with Kenny Gainwell getting into the action with 88 yards rushing. Even Sean Tucker got involved and ripped off a 46-yard touchdown to help Tampa Bay run for 258 yards versus a terrible Panthers defense.

Even though Atlanta came to Tampa Bay with the league’s No. 4-ranked run defense last Sunday, Mother Nature told Robinson that he had to run the ball due to a torrential downpour. The O-line, tight ends and receivers were full of confidence that they could play bully ball once again and Irving and Gainwell ran roughshod over the Falcons, combining for 52 carries with Irving rushing for 170 yards and a touchdown while Gainwell ran for 140 yards – both career-highs in a 16-0 win.

The old adage in football is “run something until the defense proves it can stop it.” I was a defensive coordinator and a defensive line coach for six years in Pop Warner and that’s exactly the mantra at that level and in high school, too. But in college football and the pro level, offensive coordinators often stray from that principle too often and get cute, wanting to try something else on their play sheet – usually a specific passing play.

Robinson deserves a bunch of credit for running the ball at will and only having Baker Mayfield drop back to throw the ball 12 times at Carolina, including one scramble, and just seven times, including four scrambles for 14 yards, in the rain against the Falcons. Mayfield didn’t even complete a pass in the driving rain in Sunday’s win. Of course the Bucs quarterback has been recovering from a dislocated thumb, so the timing for a heavy dose of running the ball has come at a perfect time.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But I love how Robinson has literally run the ball over and over and over again, daring opponents to stop it. And they haven’t been able to when Tampa Bay’s running backs run the ball 25 times or more in a game.

“We’ve run them the whole season,” Robinson said of the team’s gap runs and counters, which have been very successful. “You know, we haven’t had as many opportunities, I think, within a game to run that many. You know, I mentioned last week, you’ve got to earn your run opportunities. The way that the last couple of weeks have gone, we keep being so efficient on those downs that you’re going to get more run opportunities to run those. But the guys have done a great job handling it, knowing that is the strength of the group up front and with our tight ends and really our [running] backs, too. They’re great gap runners.

“We’ve been mixing it [up] a good amount. We just so happen to kind of lean on some of those when they’ve been hitting the last couple weeks. There were some in Dallas as well. It’s always going to be in the inventory, and then the game and how it unfolds kind of dictates how many you can get to within the framework of first and second down a normal down-and-distance ball. But yeah, those have been great runs, high-level execution. Some of the looks that we’ve gotten in a game have been cleaner than practice.

“Like, those guys have done an unbelievable job on some of those. So, we’ve got to keep those rolling and obviously have our mixers off it as well.”

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

I hope Robinson continues his “run it until they can stop it” game plan on Sunday Night Football in Chicago – even against a Bears defense, which ranks fourth in the league in run defense. This 6-2 Chicago team is far better than the 3-5 Atlanta team Tampa Bay beat last Sunday. And yes, Mayfield will have to throw the ball and prove that the Bucs’ passing game can be better than it was earlier in the season during the team’s 0-4 start.

How effective the passing game will be is just as important as the Bucs’ ability to run the ball on Sunday night. The Bears defense won’t be lit up for 200 yards on the ground. Not with newly acquired Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons in the middle.

But if Tampa Bay can stick with the run long enough to get 120 yards on the ground, that could trigger another Bucs’ upset in primetime, especially if Mayfield’s right arm can provide some balance on offense and Todd Bowles’ defense can come through with a few more takeaways.

If the Bucs aren’t able to run the ball and the passing game falters on Sunday night Robinson will undoubtedly come under fire again for a passing attack that will be labeled as broken and ineffective. But for now he deserves credit for running the ball and absurd amount of times and finding success with the league’s No. 1 run defense, averaging 168.8 per game.

Let’s see what happens in Chicago.

FAB 3. Is Sean Tucker On The Trading Block?

I’ve floated out the name of Kenny Gainwell as a possible trade candidate a few weeks ago when the team was 1-5 and it looked like the Bucs might be sellers at the trade deadline if they didn’t win games against the Panthers and the Falcons. But the fact that Tampa Bay did win and now sits at 3-5 will likely make Jason Licht stand pat at the trade deadline, which is November 10 this year.

And rightly so.

Even with a loss to the Bears on Sunday Night Football, the Bucs have the third-easiest strength of schedule down the stretch while both the Falcons and the Panthers are in the top 10 in terms of hardest strength of schedules. The NFC South will be in play until the very end of the season at this rate, and Tampa Bay, which is now 2-0 in the division, has just as much of a chance of winning it as any team.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Licht would be wise to hang on to as much talent as he can right now while the Bucs are legitimately in a run for the division title. That’s the right thing to do, especially if the Bucs continue to improve and play closer to the team that everyone expected it to be in 2026, which was a 10-win team during a bounce-back season.

But a quick glance at the depth at running back has me wondering if Licht would consider making a trade at that position. Not dealing Gainwell, who has proven his worth with an 88-yard game at Carolina and a career-high 140-yard game versus Atlanta, but perhaps dealing Sean Tucker instead.

After rushing for 52 yards at Carolina, including a 46-yard touchdown, Tucker has 80 yards rushing on 15 carries (5.3 avg.) this year with two TDs. That average is slightly higher than that of Gainwell and Bucky Irving, who are both averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

The Bucs only have one football to go around and both Coen and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson found it incredibly difficult to feed it to three backs, and Tucker was – and still is – the third man on the totem pole on the running back depth chart.

I’m not saying Tucker is going to be traded or that the Bucs are necessarily shopping him. But if Licht is going to make a deal at the trade deadline, he might emerge as the most likely candidate due to the depth at running back and the fact that he will likely play elsewhere next season.

What would Tucker fetch? Maybe a sixth-round pick. But considering the fact that Licht and Co. have drafted players like Payne Durham and Bauer Sharp in the sixth round, and even Tez Johnson in the seventh round, that wouldn’t be a bad trade at all.

FAB 4. Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish Could Make Pro Bowl Cases On SNF

It’s not a stretch to suggest that both Bucs cornerbacks Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum are having Pro Bowl seasons – because they are. Tampa Bay’s cornerbacks are playing so well that I’m going to skip over the Gravediggers cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean from Super Bowl LV and go back to Super Bowl XXXVII and suggest that they are playing as well as Rondé Barber and Brian Kelly did.

Well, almost.

Barber finished the 2002 season with a pair of interceptions and 20 pass breakups, while Kelly led the NFC with eight interceptions and 21 pass breakups. Both were snubbed for the Pro Bowl that year.

Parrish’s dogged play reminds me a bit of Barber, who played outside corner in base defense and only moved inside to the slot in nickel situations on third down. He played nickel as a rookie, but is a full-time outside cornerback now since the team drafted rookie Keionte Scott in the fourth round.

Parrish has thrived outside and leads the NFL with 13 pass breakups, in addition to recording two interceptions. The second-year stud out of Kansas State has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 53.3% of their passes for 24 catches for 384 yards and one touchdown while allowing only 157 yards after the catch through eight games.

Bucs CB Jacob Parrish – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

McCollum has had a remarkable bounce-back season after a disappointing campaign last year. Now in his fifth season, McCollum has become the shutdown cornerback that the Bucs envisioned he could become. He’s responded to new cornerbacks coach Rashad Johnson’s challenges of staying focused on every down and studying his opponents in greater detail.

McCollum is allowing just 56.7% of quarterbacks’ passes to be complete, and has surrendered only 17 catches for 178 yards with a remarkable 66 yards after catch. He has also yet to be scored on and has nine pass breakups.

Bucs CBs Zyon McCollum and Keionte Scott – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Parrish and McCollum have exceeded expectations this year, as cornerback was considered to be a huge question mark heading into the 2026 season. Neither is a household name in the NFL fan spectrum. But that could change on Sunday Night Football in Chicago.

The last time Tampa Bay was in primetime was during its 24-16 upset at Dallas on Thursday Night Football. In that game, McCollum erased Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb and Parrish had four pass breakups covering George Pickens. Neither cornerback surrendered a touchdown.

McCollum has been on quite a tear this year in shutting down some of the league’s top wide receivers.

Parrish and McCollum could have a nationwide coming out party if either or both record another interception on Sunday night in Chicago or breakup a bunch of passes. The Bears have a pair of star receivers in Rome Odunze, a former first-round pick, and Luther Burden III, last year’s second-rounder.

Odunze plays out wide two thirds of the time and sees an even amount of snaps out wide to the left as he does the right, spending one third of the time in the slot. Burden splits time almost evenly between the slot and outside with slightly more reps outside to the left than he does the right.

Kalif Raymond, the team’s undersized speedster, spends about twice as much time outside as he does in the slot, and it’s about even split between left and right.

While the Bears have the league’s second-best ground game and are a balanced offense, Caleb Williams is a dangerous and effective passer who thrives on broken plays when he leaves the pocket. Parrish and McCollum will have to plaster their receivers in coverage and not allow a big play to happen on a broken play. And when an errant pass comes their way they must not drop those opportunities.

If Tampa Bay’s defense continues to play stellar football and Parrish and McCollum shut down their receivers and come away with a turnover or two, they could quickly become household names on Sunday night. And with another nationally televised on Monday Night Football against the Panthers coming up in December, both cornerbacks could wind up making a Pro Bowl push if they can shine in prime time.

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

Here are some of my final thoughts on this huge, upcoming Bucs at Bears game on Sunday Night Football.

• The battle of Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay’s defensive play-caller versus Ben Johnson, Chicago’s offensive play-caller, will certainly make the headlines on Sunday night. But the real battle will be Bowles, the Bucs the head coach, versus Johnson, the Bears head coach.

I expect this game to be close, so which coach is going to adhere to the best in-game strategy and clock management? Which coach calls timeouts at the right time? Which coach goes for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field or punting?

These are areas that Bowles has struggled in during his time in Tampa Bay whereas Johnson has proven to make the right calls more often in his brief tenure as Chicago’s head coach.

• With Yaya Diaby missing Sunday’s game due to a knee injury, I think David Walker is going to get his first start – and deservedly so. With one more sack (four) and just as many tackles for loss (six) as Diaby has, Walker has slightly more effective coming off the bench than the four-year starter has been. Will Walker, who hasn’t recorded a sack in the past two games, get back on the sack train and help terrorize Caleb Williams on Sunday night?

Bucs OLBs David Walker and Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Walker plays well in Diaby’s absence in Chicago and again in Detroit the week after the bye, there is a real chance that Tampa Bay lets Diaby walk in free agency rather than pay him $20 million or more. First-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. is entrenched as one starter, and Walker can make his case to be a starter in 2027 and beyond starting on Sunday night.

• If the Bucs beat the Bears they will improve to 4-5 heading into the bye week and could be on top of the NFC South if the Broncos beat the Panthers Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay will have won three in a row and four out of their last five win a victory in Chicago. However, a loss would drop the Bucs to 3-6, and instead of riding high into the bye week full of confidence the team would be deflated and have to chew on this loss for two weeks before a tough road game at Detroit.

If the Bucs were to be 3-6, the NFC South would remain wide open, and from a mental standpoint, it would take Tampa Bay three straight wins just to get to .500 and the team would have to expend a lot of energy to do so. The Bucs wouldn’t even reach .500 until December at that rate, and a 3-6 mark would force Tampa Bay to go 6-1 down the stretch just to get to 9-8 on the year and be in position to win the NFC South. That might be too tall of a task if this team can’t beat the Bears.

The Pewter Pregame Show Kicks Off At 9:00am On Sunday

The Pewter Pregame podcast kicks off at 9:00 a.m. this Sunday just hours before the Bucs Week 9 game against the Bears. The Pewter Pregame LIVE stream can be found on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel as well as Pewter Report’s social media channels on X and Facebook at 9:00 a.m. ET on game day.

Pewter Pregame is presented by Duke’s Garage Doors – Affordable repairs. Fast service. Quality installation. Call Duke’s Garage Doors – the official garage door company of Pewter Report – at 833-633-4057 or visit DGDoors.com

Scott Reynolds and Adam Slivon preview the game, reveal their Bucs players to watch, provide the latest injury updates and answer questions from Bucs fans live during this one-hour show. Can’t make the LIVE Pewter Pregame show? You can always watch the archived show any time before kickoff on PewterReportTV.

Watch Pewter GameDay: Bucs at Bears LIVE In-Game Analysis

Pewter Report’s popular in-game LIVE Pewter GameDay show kicks off on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET as the Bucs face the Bears in a must-win Week 9 game at Soldier Field. Pewter Report’s Matt Matera and Josh Queipo to analyze all of the action in real time during Tampa Bay’s three-hour game.

The Pewter GameDay show will not show the Bucs game, so Tampa Bay fans are encouraged to watch the game live on the broadcast network and also tune in to the Pewter Report staff on Pewter GameDay via PewterReportTV on YouTube for added context and insight to enhance your viewing pleasure.

The PR staff will also answer your questions throughout the game. The Pewter GameDay LIVE stream can also be found on Pewter Report’s X and Facebook channels. Click the link below at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday to watch Pewter GameDay on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.