After a rookie year spent mostly on the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad and only 13 rushing attempts in six games with the Cleveland Browns earlier this season, Bobby Rainey arrived in Tampa Bay after the injury to Doug Martin surely hoping he could finally have a role in an offense. The injury to Mike James a week ago gave Rainey a chance, and he capitalized on it Sunday in the Buccaneers' 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Bobby Rainey explodes for 3 touchdowns; fantasy owners celebrate
The Buccaneers running back had an enormous game against a division rival. We break down the fantasy implications.
Al Messerschmidt
Rainey had 163 yards on 30 carries Sunday, plus four receiving yards on two receptions. More importantly, though, the running back had three total touchdowns -- two rushing, one receiving -- in the Buccaneers' win over the division rival. The Bucs' other main running back, Brian Leonard, was barely a factor in the offense, with 16 rushing yards on four rushes. He was slightly more involved in the passing game, catching four balls for 21 yards, but overall was a clear No. 2 to Rainey.
Fantasy impact: There was a bit of wondering coming into this game whether Leonard -- who has been with the team all season -- or Rainey -- who was almost certainly the more talented back -- would get the lion’s share of touches in the game, but those questions are gone in the wake of Rainey’s huge performance. He averaged 5.4 yards per rush over the game, a huge number that was even higher before his end-of-game rushes that weren’t really trying to gain yardage.
It certainly seems as though many of the Falcons have packed it in for the season. The Buccaneers get a friendly rush defense next week against the Detroit Lions before two out of three games against the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, so Rainey could be a decent sell-high candidate in leagues where the trading deadline has not yet passed.
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