The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were simply terrible onThursday Night Football,but running back Bobby Rainey will still be an asset to his fantasy owners going forward. Yes, the ball-carrier did fumble twiceduring the team's 56-14 drubbing at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons, but there is still plenty to like from a fantasy football perspective.For the second consecutive week, Rainey put up over 100 total yards of offense. He carried 11 times for 41 yards and added seven receptions for 64 yards. His eight targets were good enough for second on the team to Vincent Jackson's nine. Considering the way the game started, Rainey did well to accumulate that kind of production.Rainey carried all of two times in the first half of Thursday's contest. His third carry came on Tampa Bay's opening drive of the third quarter. Putting things into perspective, Rainey gained the vast majority of his 105 total yards in just two quarters.Sure, you can always argue Rainey simply produced in garbage time, long after Atlanta took its foot off the gas. But considering how poorly Tampa Bay performed as a team, his totals actually become impressive. Besides, yardage gained in garbage time is equally as valuable to fantasy owners.While that's somewhat comforting in itself, Rainey may have helped solidify his status as the team's most capable option out of the backfield.Through three games this season, third-string back Mike James has carried 10 times for 11 yards. He's also added one reception for negative-five yards, totaling 11 touches for six yards.Doug Martin was held out of his second straight game with a knee injury. Before Martin left the team's Week 1 contest, he only accumulated nine yards on nine carries. Considering he only averaged 3.6 yards per carry in 2013 before his season-ending shoulder injury, he hasn't been effective in quite some time.In fact, before Thursday's game, Ross Tucker of NBCSN tweeted a very telling statement from Buccaneers beat writer Rick Stroud:Head coach Lovie Smith and Co. had plenty of reasons to like Rainey entering Week 3. After scoring one of Tampa Bay's two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, Rainey delivered an impressive Week 2 performance, carrying 22 times for 144 yards and adding three receptions for 30 yards.Another interesting wrinkle in Rainey's value is the Buccaneers' quarterback situation. Josh McCown is expected to miss several weeks, according to Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com:A capable quarterback can be a running back's best friend, and on Thursday, Mike Glennon looked far better than McCownRainey was a beneficiary. Take a look at the quarterbacks' stat comparison:While fumbling was certainly an issue for the running back against the Falcons, his recent productionalong with praise from the coaching staffshould assure he doesn't completely miss his opportunity to continue receiving a fair share of the workload out of the backfieldeven after Martin returns.Rainey shouldn't be considered a fantasy stud or a must-start back for fantasy owners. However, he absolutely warrants a roster spot in all formats going forward. Currently, Rainey is only owned in 27.3 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. That number may even decrease considering the Buccaneers' dreadful performance on Thursday night.Do yourself a favor and check your league's waiver wire. If Rainey is there, add him to your bench. Even in the worst-case scenario that Martin comes back and lights it up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4, Rainey is still a viable handcuff. Although, if Rainey gets another shot on September 28against Pittsburgh's 30th-ranked run defenseyou could be heavily rewarded.
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