Buccaneers Beat Falcons 16-0 Without Completing a Pass, First NFL Team in 52 Years Tampa Bay rushed for 324 yards and shut out Atlanta 16-0 while attempting only three passes, becoming the first NFL team since 1974 to win without a completion. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 on a rainy, windy afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, becoming the first NFL team in 52 years to win a game without completing a single pass. Baker Mayfield attempted three passes and completed none, while the Buccaneers racked up 324 rushing yards, a new club record. Tampa Bay barely bothered to throw the ball. Mayfield attempted just two passes in the first half and only one in the second. The Buccaneers finished with negative net passing yards.Bucky Irving And Kenneth Gainwell Rushing RecordsThe last team to rush for 300-plus yards with negative net passing yards was Washington in 1955. Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell both ran for career highs. Irving finished with 170 yards on 27 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Gainwell added 140 yards on 25 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt.The Buccaneers have now rushed for 925 yards over their past four games, the most in franchise history. The only other team in the Super Bowl era to win without a completion was the 1974 Buffalo Bills against the Baltimore Colts on Sept. 29, 1974. In that game, Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson attempted only two passes without a completion, and O.J. Simpson ran for 117 yards.Both teams combined for eight completions in that contest. The Buccaneers are the first team to win by double digits without a completion since the 1945 Pittsburgh Steelers shut out the Chicago Cardinals 23-0. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said the weather dictated the game plan. The conditions told him that, Bowles said, noting it was a downpour with wind blowing and the ball was not going anywhere.Mayfield opened his postgame news conference with a joke. All right, let us get this over with because you do not want to talk to me, Mayfield told reporters. He was later asked about his lead blocking on one play. You know, if you are not going to throw the ball, I got to get active somehow, he said.Irving said he did not check the weather forecast. I am not going to lie to you. I do not know the last time I checked the weather for a football game, Irving said. We are going to have to play in it anyway.That is how I think about it. Rain, snow, muddy, you are going to have to play in it anyway. Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. accounted for all eight completions in the game but threw four interceptions and finished with 125 passing yards. Three of his interceptions came in the first half, and he did not have more completions than interceptions until midway through the third quarter.Michael Penix Jr Interceptions And Falcon StrugglesHe completed only eight of 24 attempts. Those eight combined completions were the fewest in an NFL game since Dec. 17, 1978, when the Bills and Baltimore Colts also combined for eight. The Falcons tried to pass more in the second half but struggled against the Tampa Bay defense. The win was Tampa Bay's second straight and moved the Buccaneers to 3-5, matching the Falcons in a wide-open NFC South.The victory gave the Buccaneers renewed life in the division race. It was a surreal game that set back the modern-day NFL offense by decades, but the Buccaneers got the last laugh. Tampa Bay's 324 rushing yards broke the franchise single-game record. Irving and Gainwell became the first pair of Buccaneers running backs to each rush for 140 or more yards in the same game.The offensive line played a key role in the historic performance. The game was played in unrelenting rain, turning the field into a slushy surface. It was three yards and a cloud of dust, or rather, three yards and a lot of slush, with far more than three yards per carry for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay did not attempt a pass in the second half until late in the fourth quarter.Historic NFL Completion Records And Game ContextThe 1974 Bills game also featured only eight combined completions, matching the futility of this contest. The 1945 Steelers won 23-0 over the Chicago Cardinals without completing a pass, the last time a team won by double digits without a completion before Tampa Bay's victory. Mayfield's three pass attempts were the fewest by a quarterback in a winning effort since the 1974 game. He finished with zero passing yards and a passer rating of 39.6.The Buccaneers ran 52 offensive plays, 49 of which were runs. Atlanta's offense could not capitalize on Tampa Bay's lack of passing. Penix threw interceptions on three consecutive possessions in the first half. The Falcons managed just 125 passing yards and 72 rushing yards.Bijan Robinson was held to 45 yards on 14 carries. The Buccaneers' defense forced four turnovers and recorded three sacks. The shutout was Tampa Bay's first since 2021. The win snapped a three-game losing streak at Raymond James Stadium.Tampa Bay now heads into a crucial stretch of division games. The Falcons fell to 3-5 and have lost three of their last four games. Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said his team must regroup quickly. We did not execute in any phase, Morris said.Give Tampa Bay credit. They played great defense and ran the ball down our throats. The Buccaneers' 925 rushing yards over the past four games is the most in franchise history in a four-game span. Irving has now rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games.Gainwell's 140 yards were a career high. The two running backs combined for 310 yards on 52 carries. Mayfield's postgame news conference lasted only a few minutes. He answered questions about the weather, the running game and his blocking.Baker Mayfield Postgame Reaction And Team VictoryHe did not seem bothered by the lack of passing. We won the game, Mayfield said. That is all that matters. The defense played lights out and the offensive line dominated.I will take a win any way we can get it. The Buccaneers became the first team since the 1974 Bills to win without a completion, and the first since the 1945 Steelers to win by double digits without a completion. It was a historic day in Tampa Bay, one that will be remembered for the running game and the rain.