The National Football league today announced that Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 6, following his breakout performance in Tampa Bay’s 51-27 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Tucker – a second-year Syracuse product – recorded a career-high 192 yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns in Week 6, amassing 136 rushing yards on 14 carries (9.7 average) and 56 receiving yards on three receptions. He led all players in Week 6 in rushing yards, rushing yards per attempt and scrimmage yards, while tying for the second-most receiving yards among running backs. Tucker was 1-of-2 players with both a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown in Week 6, alongside Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon.
The 192-yard outburst from Tucker was the third-highest scrimmage yards total by any NFL player in a game this season, trailing only Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (209 in Week 4) and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (193 in Week 5). It also marked the third-most scrimmage yards in a single game among all undrafted players over the past five seasons (2020-24).
Tucker’s Week 6 performance was the sixth instance in which a Tampa Bay running back tallied 192-or-more yards from scrimmage and scored multiple touchdowns in a game, joining Doug Martin (2012, twice), Warrick Dunn (2000, twice) and James Wilder (1984).
The honor marks the first of Tucker’s career and the first for a Tampa Bay running back since Leonard Fournette during the 2021 season (Week 12). Tucker also joins former Tampa Bay running back Bobby Rainey as the only undrafted running backs in team history to earn player of the week recognition.
As a team, Tampa Bay put forth the first 50-plus-point scoring performance by any team in the 2024 season, amassing a franchise record 594 total net yards in the process. Tampa Bay became the fifth team in NFL history to record 300+ net passing yards (317) and 275+ net rushing yards (277) in a single game, joining the Miami Dolphins in 2023, San Francisco 49ers in 2012, Dallas Cowboys in 1978 and Green Bay Packers in 1962. It was the first such performance in a road game since Green Bay in 1962.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES