Outside of AdventHealth Training Center and Raymond James Stadium, red flags wave with the Buccaneers’ logo. Those should be the only red flags waving around the team, but another has been hoisted with no sign of coming down. That is the Bucs’ running game.

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Adam Slivon/PR

Sunday’s loss to the Lions was a familiar case of the Bucs not being able to run the football with much success. Although it has been a point of emphasis since the offseason to make the run game a heavy part of the team’s identity, it has not happened yet and one can wonder when it ever will.

On 16 carries, Tampa Bay was only able to muster 46 yards in their 20-6 loss against Detroit’s third-ranked rushing defense. That equates to just a 2.9 yards-per-carry average and continues a season-long trend of struggles. Struggles that have begun to bring up more questions than answers…

Why is Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ run scheme not yet yielding results?

Is it the fault of Canales, the offensive line, or the running backs led by Rachaad White?

What can be done to fix it?

After the game, a handful of Bucs discussed the struggles of the running game and how they will move going forward.

Hard For Bucs To Find Balance With Disappointing Run Game

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Head coach Todd Bowles was not letting out a “YEAH” after how the game unfolded Sunday. Taking the podium for his press conference, he rather took questions about the team’s struggles and was the first to be prodded about the run game. When asked about what it would take to run the football with success, he offered a list of remedies.

“Work, practice, effort, coming together,” Bowles said. “We’re 3-2, we’ll get back to work tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

The problem is Bowles’ response does not completely address the elephant in the room. The Bucs have assuredly been doing each of those beginning in the offseason when Dave Canales began implementing his offense. Despite the belief heading into the season things were changing, the running game has disappointed.

“Yeah, disappointing,” quarterback Baker Mayfield added. “You’ve got to be able to run the ball to win in this league consistently. It’s not just the run game, it’s the pass game execution. Obviously today on third downs and anytime we had the ball — didn’t execute. There’s a lot of things we have to fix. We’re going to look in the mirror, it’s going to be harsh but our guys can take it because we know where we want to go.”

The goal is to move forward, but that is not something the team has been able to do on the ground. Rachaad White has 70 carries through five games but for just 232 rushing yards, a sub-par 3.3-yard per carry average. Behind him, it has been even worse. Backups Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Sean Tucker are averaging 1.7 and 1.5 yards per carry respectively on 15 carries apiece. It is clear that the running backs are not getting it done, and the league’s worst rushing attack last season has largely remained that way in 2023.

That has only made it harder for Mayfield and the passing offense to be more balanced, catch defenses off guard, and have the chance to open the game up.

“It is hard when you can’t find your rhythm whatsoever,” Mayfield added. “It makes it very difficult, but we had a few plays that should have sparked us and should have been able to get us going and get into a rhythm. We just didn’t continue it, so that was the disappointing part about today.”

Rachaad White: “We Didn’t Make The Plays”

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

The hope for this season is that running back Rachaad White would look more comfortable in his sophomore campaign and more impactful with an additional workload. After impressing in spurts his rookie year, he has not looked like an aggressive runner ready to take on opposing defenders. After the game, he mentioned the attitude of the team, including himself, could be better.

“The attitude could be better, for sure, but that all comes within the game,” White said. “I thought there were plays we did good and there were plays that were no gains, which happens throughout the game. I just feel like the biggest difference is they made plays on their side and we didn’t make the plays when it was time for us to make them.”

On the one rush he looked to have the attitude to tote the rock aggressively, he quickly accelerated up the middle for an eight-yard rush in the second quarter. Otherwise, both he and Ke’Shawn Vaughn were tentative in finding lanes to run through.

The Bucs’ overall lack of being able to run the football has been frustrating, to say the least.

“It’s absolutely frustrating,” right tackle Luke Goedeke said. “If we get both [the pass and run game] going, who knows what we could be? Yeah, it’s frustrating. As an offensive line, it starts with us upfront. We kind of hold that near and dear; that’s our true identity and everything. Definitely take that to heart.”

It is not all the fault of the offensive line, because at some point the running backs need to make something happen with the ball in their hands. There are plenty of teams across the league finding more success with inferior offensive linemen up front.

There is no clear-cut answer to solving the woes of the Bucs’ running game. It could be a combination of factors, but one factor is more clear than others. Tampa Bay’s running backs, starting with Rachaad White, need to also take to heart that they have struggled and turn the frustrations into yards — as soon as possible.