Getting his first shot at extensive playing time with Mike James out for the year with a broken ankle, Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey had a dream performance Week 11 against the Falcons. He ceded the first two carries to Brian Leonard in what was expected to be a platoon situation but was off to the races with runs of 11, 10 and 11 yards on his first three carries. After he broke off a 43-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, the Buccaneers didn't see the need to go back to Leonard. It wasn't the last time Rainey would cross the goal line that day.
Rainey scored on a 3-yard run later in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 110 yards on 13 carries. He added a 4-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter. With the Buccaneers up big, he didn't find quite as much running room in the second half but proved more than capable of carrying the load in a run-out-the-cloock scenario, finishing the day with 30 carries for 163 yards. He also caught two passes for 4 yards and even got a chance to throw the ball, failing to connect on his one attempt.
Rainey wasn't facing an especially stout run defense, but considering he stayed mostly between the tackles, the fact that 12 of his carries went for 5 yards or more shows how well he played off his blockers. He showed good patience waiting for holes to develop and good burst once he found one. He'll look to validate the performance Week 12 at Detroit.