Watch Jacquizz Rodgers kickstart the Bucs offense

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are struggling to move the ball against the San Francisco 49ers, at least on downfield throws, but Jacquizz Rodgers is there to save the day. Look at him run all over the San Francisco defense.

Rodgers now has 110 rushing yards on just 13 carries, and the first half isn’t even over. Perhaps even more amazing: running back Antone Smith also has 47 yards on three touches. Both Rodgers and Smith were picked up off the street during the season, and they’re getting playing time because of injuries: Charles Sims is on injured reserve, and Doug Martin has been out since midway through game two.

Rodgers has been a gift for the Bucs offense, which has really struggled since week two, mostly because of Jameis Winston’s inconsistencies. A solid running game will go a long way toward mitigating the passing game problems, and seeing Antone Smith work well as an explosive addition is very promising as well.

But then we shouldn’t overstate Winston’s problems either. He threw another interception on yet another slow start today, but also has two touchdowns and a pretty nice 12 completions in 18 attempts for 165 passing yards. In all, the offense actually looks pretty decent — now we’ll see if they can keep that up in the second half.