Written By | Staff Writer
In a Tampa downpour, Tampa Bay ran 92 percent of the time, set a franchise rushing record and did something the NFL had not seen since 1974.
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TAMPA, Fla.
Football teams are supposed to throw the ball. Quarterbacks are paid to do it, offensive coordinators build their weeks around it, and the modern NFL has spent two decades tilting rules and rhythms toward the air. On a soaked Sunday afternoon in Tampa, the Buccaneers ignored all of it and beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 without completing a single forward pass.
Baker Mayfield finished 0-for-3. Tampa Bay finished with negative-two net passing yards after a sack. And according to ESPN, the Buccaneers became the first team to win a game without a completion since the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets 16-12 on September 29, 1974, the only such game of the Super Bowl era. Including this one, there have been six wins without a completion since 1940.
A Game Plan Built for the Weather
Rain fell for most of the afternoon, leaving a wet, sloppy field, and the Buccaneers treated it as an invitation. They ran on 92 percent of their plays, which ESPN notes is the second-highest designed rush percentage in a game over the past 20 seasons. Mayfield handed the ball off 52 times and added 13 rushing yards on scrambles of his own.
The approach was not a one-day improvisation. Over the previous two weeks, Tampa Bay had called 16 pass plays and 104 running plays, and Mayfield had been efficient when he did throw, going 7-of-11 in the Week 7 win over Carolina. The Falcons game simply pushed a trend to its logical extreme.
The numbers that resulted were startling. The Buccaneers rushed for a franchise-record 324 yards, according to ESPN, topping the 283 they ran for in a 2015 win at Philadelphia. (Other box-score listings show 322; either way it is a team record.) The ground game accounted for essentially all of the offense.
Two Backs, One Historic Afternoon
The workload fell on two running backs. Bucky Irving carried 27 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, a 4-yard run in the third quarter. Kenny Gainwell added 140 yards on 25 carries. ESPN reports it was the first time in NFL history that two teammates each had at least 25 carries and 125 yards in the same game.
Irving credited the men in front of him. "I'll go to war with those guys any day," he said of the offensive line led by Tristan Wirfs. Kicker Chase McLaughlin supplied the rest of the scoring, hitting field goals from 46, 34 and 42 yards to move to 19-for-19 on the season.
Mayfield, the quarterback whose stat line looked like a typo, was unbothered. "I'll do whatever it takes to win," he said, and, per the Associated Press, added that it is "all that matters to me." He also described how he stayed involved: "If I'm not going to throw the ball, I have to get active somehow," a reference to his blocking and scrambling.
Atlanta's Afternoon Unravels
On the other side, the evening went the other way. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went 8-for-24 for 125 yards and threw four interceptions. Running back Bijan Robinson gained 76 yards on 19 carries, and kicker Nick Folk missed a 53-yard field goal. Penix was candid afterward, saying the performance "kind of sucked, but we're going to shake that."
Atlanta never scored. For a team that entered the day at 3-4, the shutout was a reminder of how quickly a passing offense can become a liability when weather, pressure and turnovers stack up.
What It Means for the Standings
Both teams now sit at 3-5, but the trajectories differ. Tampa Bay, which started the season 0-4, has won three of its last four and trails Carolina (3-4) by a half game in the NFC South. In a division where nobody has separated, a run-first identity that keeps the ball and the clock under control looks less like a gimmick and more like a plan.
It is also worth keeping perspective. A zero-completion win says as much about the opponent's four giveaways and a rain-slicked field as it does about Tampa Bay's design, and the Buccaneers will not be able to repeat it against a team that scores early and forces them to chase. The modern game still punishes one-dimensional offenses when they fall behind. What the afternoon proves is narrower, and more interesting: with a dominant line and two capable backs, an offense can choose its terms.
What This Means for You
If you follow the NFL, the lesson is that old-school football is still a live option. Fantasy managers should note that a game script like this can bury a quarterback's numbers while turning running backs into stars; Irving and Gainwell both cleared 125 yards, a rare shared feat. If you bet or play pick'em contests, weather and opponent turnovers matter more than a team's reputation for throwing.
And for the casual fan, this is the sort of game that becomes a trivia answer. Years from now, someone will ask when a team last won without completing a pass, and the answer will be a rainy Sunday in November 2026.
The Bottom Line
The Buccaneers did not reinvent football on Sunday. They reminded everyone that it can be played another way, and that when conditions and personnel line up, the oldest recipe in the sport still wins games. Tampa Bay heads into the second half of the season with a record that is mediocre, a rushing attack that is historic, and a quarterback who has made clear he cares only about the final score.
