The Buccaneers offense had a day in Philadelphia on Sunday as they picked up 521 yards on their way to a 45-17 victory and running back Doug Martin’s play was a big reason for that success.
Martin broke off runs of 58 and 84 yards to set up two of Jameis Winston’s five touchdown passes and finished the day with 235 yards on 27 carries. It was the second time in Martin’s career that he’s rushed for more than 200 yards and continued a rebound season for a back who missed 15 games with injuries in 2013 and 2014.
Martin, who now ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards, said that the key to his success on Sunday was letting the game come to him rather than trying to force anything that wasn’t there.
“I do not know about waiting for a game like this,” Martin said, via ESPN.com. “I just let the plays come to me. My thing is when you come into a game thinking about stats -- ‘I have to get these stats, get these touchdowns’ -- then you force things, and you just cannot naturally flow with the game. In this game, I just came in and just did my job like I wanted to.”
Martin had a great game, but some credit has to go to an offensive line that has gotten its act together in both run and pass blocking after a rough start to the season. That improvement has helped Martin turn his game around and is helping Winston progress during a rookie season that coach Lovie Smith says has made his team “relevant again.”
At 5-5 and trending in the right direction, the Bucs could wind up being more than that when the regular season comes to an end.