Bucs fantasy scoreboard, Week 2: Bucky Irving leads the way

Tampa Bay fell to Cleveland 19-23 at home in Week 2, and the fantasy scoreboard tells a similar story: a lot of players did a little, nobody ran away with the week. Bucky Irving and kicker Chase McLaughlin shared the top spot at 13.0 PPR points, with Baker Mayfield a fraction behind at 12.2.

The full scoreboard

Irving carried the load, without a touchdown

Irving's line, 17 carries for 89 yards and 4 catches for 1 yard, is a lead-back workload without a payoff at the goal line. Most of the yardage came in one burst: Irving broke off a 38-yard run in the first quarter, according to Buccaneers.com's game footage. Zero touchdowns capped his ceiling in standard and half-PPR formats, but 21 touches were enough to tie for the team lead in PPR anyway.

McLaughlin matched him by going 4 for 4 on field goals, including a 59-yarder, and making his only extra point. A perfect kicking day at that volume says something about the offense too: scoring drives kept dying in field goal range instead of the end zone, a big reason Tampa Bay managed only 19 points.

Mayfield and Egbuka connected for the lone touchdown

Mayfield went 21 of 34 for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception, plus 29 rushing yards on 4 scrambles. The touchdown went to Emeka Egbuka, who capped a 9-play, 65-yard drive that started with a play-action completion to Chris Godwin Jr., according to Buccaneers.com's recap. Egbuka finished with just 3 catches on 5 targets, but the score pushed him to 10.3 PPR points, the best mark among the wide receivers.

Godwin (3 for 46) and Cade Otton (5 for 38 on a team-high 6 targets) were the quiet, reliable options, each near 8.8 PPR points without an explosive play.

The disappointments

Ted Hurst III drew 7 targets, the most on the team, and turned them into just 2 catches for 27 yards, volume without production. Tez Johnson caught only 1 of his 4 targets but broke a 49-yard gain on it, a boom-or-bust line. Kenny Gainwell stayed buried in a change-of-pace role, 2 carries and 3 short catches for 4.5 PPR points, while the Buccaneers defense turned 2 sacks into just 2.0 points after allowing 23.

What it means for next week

Irving's 21 touches confirm he is still the every-down back regardless of the touchdown drought, and that workload alone keeps him a start. Otton's 6 targets are worth watching as a floor play at tight end even in a low-scoring offense. Hurst's target volume without production is a name to monitor rather than chase, since that could change if Tampa Bay's passing game stays inefficient in the red zone. McLaughlin's perfect night is tied to stalled drives, so his value next week depends on the offense scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goals, not on anything about his own leg.

How we score

Points here use standard PPR math: passing at 0.04 per yard, 4 per passing touchdown and -2 per interception; rushing and receiving at 0.1 per yard and 6 per touchdown; receptions worth 1.0 in PPR, 0.5 in half-PPR and 0 in standard; a fumble lost costs 2 points; kickers earn 3 per field goal and 1 per extra point, with a 1-point penalty for a miss; and D/ST combines 1 point per sack, 2 per interception or fumble recovery, 6 per touchdown, plus a tiered bonus or penalty for points allowed. Two-point conversions are not counted here since none appeared in this box score.