ARLINGTON, Texas - Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving rushed for a career-best 165 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns Thursday night at AT&T Stadium, powering the Buccaneers to a 21-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys for their first win of the 2026 season.
Irving’s performance - which included two receptions for 10 yards and a receiving touchdown - gave him 175 yards from scrimmage, the third-most of his career. It was his fourth career 100-yard rushing game and pushed him past the 2,000-yard career rushing mark in his 32nd NFL game, tying Warrick Dunn for the fourth-fewest games to reach that milestone in franchise history. Only Doug Martin (25 games), Cadillac Williams (29) and Errict Rhett (29) reached 2,000 career rushing yards faster as Buccaneers.
“We know that when we got in the red zone and watched film that they play a lot of Cover One and man, we just have to give our praise to our offensive coordinator for dialing it up and then the goal line, we just went counter with a second puller and I was just patient, letting the blocks develop and finding the crease,” Irving said.
The Buccaneers’ offense built momentum on a 73-yard, 15-play drive early in the second quarter that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to Irving, tying the game at seven. Irving scored again on a one-yard counter run midway through the third quarter, with linemen Cody Mauch and Payne Durham pulling and Tristan Wirfs and Cade Otton sealing the edge to create the lane. That score pushed Tampa Bay to a 21-10 lead. Between the two touchdowns, a 14-yard jet sweep by Emeka Egbuka extended the advantage.
Irving credited instinct for a breakaway run that set up the scoring sequence. “It was instincts and once you see the run and the linebacker got upfield, so I had to make a cut, then I was just me,” he said. “I already tell myself that once I trust my track, good things happen. That was just me trusting my track. I got back on my track when I was supposed to hit it.”
The Buccaneers return to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for their Week Six home game.