The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off something absolutely wild on Sunday, winning an NFL game without completing a single pass. Seriously. We’re talking about a feat not seen in 52 years. Baker Mayfield went 0-for-3 through the air, but the Bucs’ ground game went full beast mode against the Atlanta Falcons, rolling to a 16-0 shutout.
The Unstoppable Ground Game
Forget the passing game, because Tampa Bay just ran right over Atlanta. Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell both hit career highs, with the team racking up an insane 324 rushing yards. Irving tore it up for 170 yards on 27 carries, and Gainwell wasn’t far behind, adding 140 yards on 25 carries. This wasn’t some fluke either. On a rainy, windy afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs barely even tried to throw, with Mayfield attempting just two passes in the first half and only one in the entire second half. They finished with negative net passing yards for the game, a stat last seen in 1955. This performance is part of a ridiculous surge for their ground game, as the Buccaneers have put up 925 rushing yards over their last four games, a franchise record.
History, Repeat Itself? Not So Fast.
Winning without a single completed pass is almost unheard of in the modern NFL. The only other team in the Super Bowl era to pull this off was the 1974 Buffalo Bills, who beat the Baltimore Colts in a game where both teams combined for a grand total of eight completions. And for a double-digit win without a completion? You have to go all the way back to 1945, when the Pittsburgh Steelers shut out the Chicago Cardinals 23-0. This just shows how rare and flat out bonkers Sunday’s game was for Tampa Bay.
NFC South Just Got a Whole Lot Weirder
While the Buccaneers were busy rewriting history with their legs, the Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. was having a rough day. Penix accounted for all eight of the game’s completions, but he threw four interceptions and finished with only 125 passing yards. Three of those picks came in the first half, and he didn’t even have more completions than interceptions until midway through the third quarter. Those eight combined completions in the entire game? That’s the fewest in an NFL game since way back in December 1978. This win was Tampa Bay’s second straight and pushed their record to 3-5, tying them with the Falcons in what’s shaping up to be a wide-open NFC South. Who needs to throw the ball when you can run like that, right?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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