Buccaneers

Buccaneers RB Kenneth Gainwell logged 140 rushing yards on 25 carries in Week 8’s win over the Falcons. Gainwell was proud to see their rushing attack pick up 324 rushing yards in their win over Atlanta. 

“It felt good just getting out there and doing it together,” Gainwell said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “You know, that’s basically what I anticipated at the beginning of the season happening. Time comes with patience, but I was excited about what we did on Sunday. We got on the ground, we got it moving. The guys up front were doing their jobs, and we did what we did.”

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles said they envision using Gainwell and fellow RB Bucky Irving in a “1A, 1B” type of approach. Irving notably had 27 carries for 170 yards and a touchdown in Week 8. 

“I think we finally got to where we’re utilizing Kenny more and more, and that’s kind of the 1A, 1B we were talking about when we first signed him,” Bowles said. “Not to the degree of the carries, 27 and 25, but at the same time we know he’s a great running back and he can do a lot of things for us, and he put it on display Sunday.”

Gainwell thinks playing in the rain against Atlanta helped their running game. 

“It most definitely was fun,” Gainwell said. “I had an awful lot of fun playing in the mud, playing in the rain. Just having fun with the big guys up front. We’re just trying to what we do best, run behind guys who love blocking.”

Falcons

The Falcons are 3-5 as they approach Week 9 against the Bengals. Atlanta RB Bijan Robinson said they are approaching Sunday’s game as if it can be a “culture changer” for their team. 

“I think every game is a statement game, but for us, this game right here is something that can be a culture changer in the building,” Robinson said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “And for us, we know what this game means and what it’s going to mean at the end of the season.”

Robinson wants their team to go in with the mindset that Week 9 is a must-win game for their season. 

“This would be up for us to come together and even closer at the team and just see who we are,” Robinson said. “And yeah, this is a great team that we’re playing up against. But for us, we got to come in here with the mindset of we have to get the job done and we’ll see what the rest happens later on.”

Robinson is currently No. 4 in the league with 100.6 rushing yards per game. He still doesn’t feel like he’s playing his best and has room to improve. 

“I’ll be honest, I don’t feel like I’m playing like that right now,” Robinson said. “I got to be better. I got to be better for this team. I got to be better for the offense.”

Panthers 

The Panthers elected to fire DC Ejiro Evero and passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley. Carolina S Nick Scott said GM Dan Morgan informed him of their decision and respects the choice they made. 

“Dan Morgan gave me a call — that was the first person I heard it from, which I really appreciated,” Scott said, via Mike Kaye of ESPN. “And the message was — it was the decision they had to make, I respected it and I know they had a job to do. Wish [Cooley] and [Evero] the best of luck, thank them for the role they had in my career to this point, and now we’re looking forward to this next game.”

Panthers EDGE Princely Umanmielen said he was “genuinely shocked” about Evero getting fired mid-season. 

“I was genuinely shocked,” Umanmielen said. “Like I was genuinely surprised, especially it happening in the middle of the season. Something that I wouldn’t have expected at all.”

As for Todd Wash being promoted from defensive line coach to their interim coordinator role, Umanmielen thinks the coach will put some extra emphasis on their defensive line play. 

“I guess you could say it’s cool because you know he’s going to have a little bias there with the D-line,” Umanmielen said. “Him being a D-lineman himself, I’m assuming that he would want to see the D-line be successful game in and game out, so it’s nice to have a coach with that bias.”