Bucs' run game disappears with 16 yards vs. Packers The Tampa Tribune, published 22 December 2014 The Bucs had hoped to establish their running game Sunday, knowing longer, sustained drives would keep Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense off the field. "Something we came into the game with (was) to get 5 yards per carry, and we were unable to do that consistently today," starting running back Doug Martin said. "In the future, we want to do that." Unable to do that consistently? The Bucs weren't able to do it once Sunday, with a long of 4 yards the entire game, finishing with 16 yards on 14 carries, the lowest yardage total for the team since 1989, and the second-lowest in any NFL game this season. As a result, the Bucs also reset their season low for time of possession for the third week in a row, keeping the ball for just 21:22 while putting their defense on the field for 38:38. The Bucs were outgained by 322 yards, the fourth-largest differential in team history. "It's tough when you have less than 20 yards rushing," said coach Lovie Smith, who ran just 14 times despite not trailing by more than 10 points until the final three minutes. Martin, who had 96 yards last week in a loss to Carolina, finished with 17 yards on 10 carries. The team's only first down gained by running the ball came on a fourth-and-1 play late in the second quarter when Martin gained 1 yard, that after gaining 1 yards on third-and-2 and being stopped for no gain on third-and-1. The lack of a run game allowed the Packers to focus on getting to quarterback Josh McCown, who was sacked a season-high seven times, but still said after the game that the Bucs had tried to run the ball more. "We tried. It wasn't bad," McCown said. "We had some runs we just didn't convert on third downs and that killed us." For the third game in a row, the Bucs gave zero carries to Bobby Rainey, who remains the team's leading rusher with 406 yards despite totaling 32 rushing yards in the last seven games. "It's just not as simple as yards per carry," Smith said. "I think all of our running backs have gotten a chance to play. Where we're at right now, there's a few guys we want to see that have been doing a decent job. Charles Sims (four carries, minus-1 yard Sunday) has been doing some good things. Doug Martin, up until this day, has been doing some good things. They deserve it also."