Bucky Irving gets some indirect revenge on the Eagles player that injured him
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without star running back Bucky Irving when it takes on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 because of an ankle injury he picked up during the Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It occurred in the third quarter and Irving also fumbled the ball. The Eagles recovered and drove down the short field to score their only points of the second half, which proved to be the difference in the game.
As it turns out, Eagles defensive lineman Jalyx Hunt actually took Irving down via a hip-drop tackle that wasn't called. If it were in fact called, the Bucs would've kept the ball and would've received both 15 yards and an automatic first down.
Did Bucky Irving JUST sprain his left ankle on this fumble pic.twitter.com/0QmH2RSTCa
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) September 28, 2025
But alas, the call never came through. Fortunately, Irving and the Bucs got a little bit of indirect revenge on Saturday when Hunt was docked $23,186 by the NFL for none other than the hip-drop tackle. Even if it were after the fact, at least the league recognized the illegal maneuver and made it clear it shouldn't have happened.
Irving could miss Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers, too
Irving was in a boot and on crutches all week long. He didn't practice, at all, and Todd Bowles said he wanted to see Irving shed the boot by Friday for him to have a chance to play against the Seahawks.
That didn't happen. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is the one who reported he's in danger of missing the Week 6 matchup against the 49ers, which isn't ideal when considering they have one of the top defenses in the NFL.
The Bucs offense is still navigating key injuries to guys like Mike Evans, Luke Goedeke, and Jalen McMillan and it's awaiting Tristan Wirfs' and Chris Godwin Jr.'s to get back to their old selves, as both guys made their season debuts last week against the Eagles. Irving's injury is simply disgusting icing on top of the trash cake that has been the Bucs' injury situation through the first month of the 2025 season.
Fortunately for the Bucs, they have two good backs in Rachaad White and Sean Tucker to pick up the slack while Irving is out. The offense won't be as explosive without Irving's ability to make guys miss at any moment, but it's not like the unit will see a drastic change without its star in the backfield.
Leonard Williams reveals how Sam Darnold has grown from early in his NFL career
There are ton of gifted players on the Seattle Seahawks' roster this year. That said, you can make a case that the two most-important players on the team are veteran defensive end Leonard Williams and starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
So, a whole lot is riding on the health of two guys who have been teammates a few times before. Both Williams and Darnold played their college football at USC, and then a couple of seasons together with the New York Jets.
That means Williams knows as well as anyone how Darnold has developed as a quarterback over the course of his career. Williams talked about that and several other topics in an appearance on The Insiders on NFL Network earlier this week.
The intangibles might be the most obvious change that Darnold has made since he had a brutal beginning to his career with the Jets.
However, as far as his work on the field is concerned the biggest change is arguably a more understated approach. Darnold came into the league with a powerful arm and he was never shy about using it.
While you want your quarterback to be aggressive, Darnold definitely went over the top in this department. Over his first four seasons in the NFL he threw 54 touchdown passes, but he also threw 52 interceptions.
It wasn't until Darnold spent a season with the 49ers that he really had a break-through in his approach. Darnold credits Brock Purdy with helping him learn to move the chains a little at a time, take what the defense is giving him and not forcing deep throws so much.
Last season Darnold was able to put it all together, combining his athletic gifts with a newfound high football IQ, resulting in an incredible breakout season with the Vikings. Darnold threw for a career-high 35 touchdown passes to go with just 12 interceptions.
So far Darnold has thrown two picks in four games for Seattle, but one of them was more a great defensive play by Jalen Ramsey than anything Darnold did wrong. He's still being quite aggressive pushing the ball down the field, as well. Darnold currently leads the NFL with 9.1 yards per pass attempt and 12.9 yards per completion.
If Darnold can get into a consistent rhythm with any other pass-catcher aside from Jaxon Smith-Njigba, we should see him start to post some Minnesota-type numbers soon.
