Doug Martin: I Wanted To Play Buc Football

Let the comparisons begin.

With a national audience looking on, Doug Martin put up the night of all nights for the Buccaneers as he slashed over, under, around and through the Minnesota Vikings for 214 total yards and a performance for the ages.

There are already whispers of names like Ray Rice and Emmitt Smith.

“I wanted to come out and play Buc football,” Martin said after the 36-17 thumping he helped put on the Vikings. “The line did a great job of opening holes. Everybody did their job. I came out here and did my job.”

Martin toted the ball 32 times. “I”ll probably feel it tomorrow (Friday) or the next day,” he said in front of the NFL Network cameras.

Those 32 touches were his most of the season but he didn’t look worse for the wear. He scored two touchdowns, one came on a 64-yard catch and run with a Josh Freeman screen pass and the second came late when he bulldozed All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen for three yards to get into the end zone.

“It means he can handle the load,” said former All-Pro runner Ladanian Tomlinson afterward. “They expect big things from him and he’s delivering!”