The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were fairly productive Sunday, though it was for naught. The Buccaneers lost their fourth straight and seventh in eight games this season, falling 22-17 to the Cleveland Browns.
Mike Evans, Bobby Rainey, Vincent Jackson produce in Buccaneers’ loss
A rookie wide receiver and a new starter at running back led the way for Tampa Bay. We break down the fantasy implications.
Thomas B. Shea
The Buccaneers led 10-6 and 17-16 at different points in the game, but were held scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Browns overtook them. The Buccaneers continue to lose, but they’ve at least been competitive in four of their last five games.
Let’s look at the fantasy performances:
Mike Glennon: The quarterback continued his respectable fantasy performances Sunday. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 260 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also gained 17 yards on the ground with three carries. In six games this season, Glennon has had nine, 15 and 18 fantasy points twice each. He's a fine QB2, but not much more.
Bobby Rainey: Rainey fully took over for previous starter Doug Martin Sunday -- Martin was injured, but likely would have been benched either way. Rainey had 87 rushing yards on 19 carries and caught one pass for another 34 yards. It was a productive day, and would bode well for the future, except for the fact that rookie Charles Sims will likely hit the active roster for Week 10, and the team is high enough on him that Rainey might not get the full workload again. For now, Rainey's a low-end RB2, but that could go away quickly.
Mike Evans: The rookie wide receiver is clearly the top dog in the Tampa Bay passing game at this point. He caught seven passes for 124 yards and the team's two touchdowns against the Browns, good for 18 fantasy points. Evans now has at least seven fantasy points in his last four games, averaging 12 a game in that time. He's firmly in the WR2/flex radar.
Vincent Jackson: The veteran receiver bounced back from recent bad performances Sunday, with 86 receiving yards on six catches. He is a little below Evans right now, but Jackson will certainly have a game or two of his own before all is said and done.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins: Maybe that touchdown last week was the fluke. The rookie tight end caught one pass Sunday for 3 yards. He's off the fantasy radar.
