Bucs are Back on Top Despite Injuries
Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season comes to an end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early Sunday evening with a three-point lead over the Seattle Seahawks: 38-35. Last night, the Bucs saw the first game without leading running back Bucky Irving. Irving is suffering from dual injuries at the moment, and the Bucs are “expected to sideline him [for] at least two weeks,” said Adam Schefter. Between a sprained ankle and a surprise shoulder sublaxation, partially dislocated shoulder joint, Sean Tucker is expected to take more targets during next week's matchup against the 49ers.
Sunday night's game saw Tucker’s second appearance this season, with three rushing attempts for a measly three yards. If you drafted Sean Tucker as a replacement for Bucky Irving, it may be of interest to try to trade for RB2 Rachaad White. White will be the leading focus of the Bucs for the next couple of weeks alongside wide receiver Emeka Egbuka as Irving remains out and WR Chris Godwin recovers from being absent through weeks 1-3 and all of pre-season.
White made 14 rushing attempts last night for a total of 41 yards and two touchdowns. On the receiving end, he made four receptions of all four targets for an additional 30 yards. With Irving still ruled out for next week's game, White will continue to take on this load and can be expected to take on a couple more targets for rushes in the red zone.
On the other hand, Emeka Egbuka continues to shine and prove himself a top wide receiver of the season, one comparable to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Puka Nacua. Egbuka went home last night with a perfect 100% completion rate on all seven targets, totaling 163 yards and one touchdown, now with 445 yards after five games and 25 receptions. Comparably, Amon-Ra St. Brown has a total of 407 receiving yards after five games and 35 receptions. Puka Nacua has made 52 receptions for 588 yards total this year. While Nacua’s stats are the best of the three, with twice as many receptions as Egbuka and 143 additional yards, they all remain in the same conversation with one another.
Despite even more injuries and now missing their leading running back for at least another week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to push through. As I wrote in last week's article comparing the Bucs to the film The Magnificent Seven, no matter what hardships fall into the Bucs' hands, their 38-35 victory over the Seahawks proves that this team’s resilience runs deeper than its depth chart and injury reports. If Tampa Bay can maintain this balance of adaptability and grit, the Bucs won’t just survive the next few weeks—they’ll continue to prove that they belong among the NFC’s elite.