Doug Martin “Ejected” Luke Kuechly

Fox analyst Tim Ryan got pretty excited early in the broadcast of last Sunday’s Buccaneer win over the Carolina Panthers.

In the first quarter’s action, Doug Martin took a hand off from Josh Freeman and plowed into the middle of the Carolina defensive line where middle linebacker Luke Kuechly was waiting.

The two prize rookies then introduced themselves as the two collided.

What happened next?

“Doug Martin ejected Luke Kuechly from the pile!” Ryan exclaimed as he watched the stocky running back smash into Kuechly and the former Boston College linebacker, who many thought would be a Buccaneer, was thrown back by the force of Martin’s momentum.

Martin went on to have a spectacular final showing in this one. His carries in overtime helped set up the winning touchdown and got him to 1,000 yards this season on the ground.

Kuechly finished with 10 tackles, four of them solos but not to be outdone was Buccaneer rookie linebacker Lavonte David, who surpassed Kuechly with 15 total tackles, six of them solos and one tackle for a loss.