Rachaad White

With Bucky Irving finally back in action and Chris Godwin getting more involved, Johnson's usage cratered. The only time he made a noticeable impact in the game was when his second quarter OPI penalty took a Rachaad White touchdown off the board. Johnson should continue to soak up snaps and run routes in this short-handed offense, at least until Mike Evans returns. It's just not providing WR4 numbers in fantasy with the playoffs almost here.

With Bucky Irving active for the first time since Week 4, Tucker received only one chance to establish the supposed "hot hand," and he flunked miserably. A distant third in both touches and snaps behind Irving and Rachaad White, Tucker seems to again be on the outside looking in of the Bucs' backfield rotation. Perhaps that changes if there is Week 14 garbage time against the Saints, but Tucker isn't looking worth a 12-team league roster spot with the playoffs about to begin.

The Buccaneers welcomed RB Bucky Irving back Sunday by re-inserting him as the clear backfield leader. Irving handled 17 of the 21 RB carries in the win over the Cardinals, gaining 61 yards (3.6 per rush) and scoring the team's only ground TD. Rachaad White followed with just 7 yards on two carries. Sean Tucker handled the other two carries for no gain. White led the backfield receiving with 3 catches for 22 yards on three targets. Irving got the other two backfield targets, catching both for 20 yards.

With Bucky Irving active for the first time since Week 4, White actually "started" the game but ended up getting out-touched 19-5. Like Irving, White had a touchdown called back by penalty, getting a 15-yard receiving score wiped out in the second quarter. Beyond those tidbits, there was no inkling of the supposed committee for Irving's return. Irving's snap advantage was not prodigious, but the difference was basically any time he was on the field, he was getting the ball. With Irving back and avoiding setbacks, White is on the outside looking in on 12-team league relevance for Week 14 against the Saints.

Active for the first time since Week 4, Irving did let Rachaad White and Sean Tucker handle some drives -- NextGenStats charted Irving as playing just 54 percent of the Bucs' snaps -- but the returning back was getting the ball basically every time he stepped on the field. His 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter came one frame after a one-yard score was nullified by holding. The Bucs had clearly been waiting for this moment, and made the most of Irving's plays even if their "snap count" warning was technically true. With Irving avoiding further injury in a critical win, we would expect the training wheels to fall off further for Week 14 against the Saints. If you held onto Irving all this time, he's back to being a weekly must-start.