Leonard Fournette clinched Sunday’s win over the Panthers with a 46-yard touchdown, and had 104 yards on the day.
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians isn’t ready to change his running back rotation, however, sticking with Ronald Jones as his starter.
“I love the way it works out right now,” Arians said, via Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. “To have Leonard come in [with] fresh legs in the fourth quarter and pound it like that, very few teams have that combination.”
Fournette gained 84 of his 104 yards in the final 10 minutes of the game, including the touchdown.
They like having Jones and veteran back LeSean McCoy working early, with bigger roles as receivers and pass-protectors (familiar with Brady from his Patriots days). That allows Fournette to be the hammer late in games, who has the chance to close games out.
But it’s hard to argue with what Fournette showed, as it was the team’s fourth 100-yard rushing game since 2017, with just one in each of the previous three seasons.