Bucky Irving has first breakout NFL game for Buccaneers in Week 3 loss

A couple of rookie Ducks met up in Tampa Bay on Sunday and both had great showings. In fact, Bo Nix and Bucky Irving stole the show in front of Buccaneers and Broncos fans.

Nix led the Broncos to a win with his first breakout game (and victory) as an NFL starting quarterback. He also had his first NFL game without an interception and scored his second career rushing touchdown -- he's still trying to record his first career touchdown pass.

Denver escaped Tampa with a huge win and Nix finally looked comfortable under center and had nearly 300 total yards and a touchdown. Great day for the former Oregon passer.

But there was another Duck who shined in this game on the other side.

That was Irving.

The rookie running back rushed for a career-high 70 yards on nine carries and had three catches for 14 more yards. He touched the ball 12 times and churned out 84 all-purpose yards. He looked so effective and the usual starter, Rachaad White, looked so ineffective that some Buccaneers fans have been calling to "free Irving" moving forward.

Through three games, Irving has made the most of his carries, rushing for 154 yards on 25 carries, averaging 6.2 per carry. He is the current rookie rushing leader and ranks 24th in the NFL in rushing yards which is rather surprising given the fact that he's currently the backup in Tampa Bay.

Maybe he'll win that starting job over White if he continues this torrid pace that he's on. He may even approach 1,000 yards as a rookie if he does just that.

Not too bad from a fourth-rounder.