“I don’t really like taking all the credit,” Irving said about his recent success. “It’s those guys up front. I think I have to do something really nice for those guys for Christmas, because they’re getting the job done. I really don’t want to take all the credit. Like I said, we have to get more of those guys in here and give them the credit for getting the job done up front.”
The Bucs have increased Irving’s usage in recent weeks, and offensive coordinator Liam Cohen has done an excellent job using “pony packages” to get the rookie running back and Rachaad White on the field together, which helps stress defenses.
“Coach has always said, ‘We have to get our best players on the field,’ but ’21’ personnel is pretty much you don’t know which back is getting the ball because [of the] variety,” Irving said of the two-RB packages. “We can run routes, we can do different runs, different schemes out of that package so we just have to keep putting our head down, getting it right, and hopefully expand on the package.”
The dual-threat running back has helped spearhead a Bucs offense that has kept them in contention for the NFC South title. At 6-6, Tampa sits behind Atlanta due to losing the tiebreaker, but the Bucs face just one team currently with a winning record in the final five weeks (Los Angeles Chargers).