The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' historic rushing performance against the Atlanta Falcons has placed Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell alongside some of the NFL's most accomplished running backs.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Irving and Gainwell became just the fourth pair of teammates in NFL history to each record at least 20 carries and 125 rushing yards in the same game. They are the first duo to do so since San Francisco's Wilbur Jackson and Delvin Williams in 1976.
The exclusive group includes Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell, who achieved the milestone with Cleveland in 1959, and the Los Angeles Rams' Ron Waller and Tank Younger in 1955.
Irving rushed for a career-high 170 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, averaging 6.3
yards per attempt. Gainwell added a career-best 140 yards on 25 attempts, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Together, they accounted for 310 of Tampa Bay's franchise-record 324 rushing yards in Sunday's 16-0 victory.
Their performance also established a separate NFL record. According to Elias Sports, Irving and Gainwell became the first teammates to each record at least 25 carries and 125 rushing yards in the same game.
The accomplishment came against an Atlanta defense ranked fourth against the run entering Week 8, allowing 88.9 yards per game. Tampa Bay exceeded that average by 235.1 yards despite completing no passes.
The Buccaneers have now rushed for 582 yards over their last two games, the highest two-game total in franchise history. After gaining 258 yards against Carolina in Week 7, Tampa Bay followed with 324 against Atlanta, improving to 3-5 and putting its backfield in the NFL record books.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Buccaneers RB duo joins NFL legends in historic rushing feat
