Effectiveness in the running game played a big role in the Eagles’ 25-11 win over the Buccaneers on Monday night.
The Eagles ran for 201 yards while the Bucs were limited to 41 in their first loss of the 2023 season. On Tuesday, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles addressed his team’s shortcomings on the ground and found an area where he thinks running back Rachaad White could improve his approach in order to find better results.
“We’ve got to stay on our blocks a little longer, and obviously it goes hand in hand,” Bowles said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Rachaad has got to hit it. I think he tried to make too many big plays when it was a grind-out type of game. You’re not going to get big plays on these guys. You’ve got to start hitting it up in there, getting 2, 3 and 4 yards and hoping you’re going to break one later on. But he probably had too many cuts trying to make an explosive play, something out of nothing, as opposed to taking what they give him. Then, given the magnitude of the game, knowing it was going to be one of those games, he can get better that way, and he will.”
White now has 48 carries for 150 yards through the first three weeks and the Bucs will need to find a way to spark more production from the run game if they’re going to remain above .500 well into the 2023 season.
