Buccaneers Register Zero Passing Yards In Rainy 16-0 Win Over Falcons With Baker Mayfield Not Throwing A Single Completion

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons struggled through a literal slog amid heavy rain at Raymond James Stadium for their Week 8 matchup. The Bucs trudged their way to a 16-0 win despite getting no passing yards as quarterback Baker Mayfield threw three incomplete passes.

Tampa Bay technically finished with -2 passing yards as Mayfield was sacked for a 2-yard loss by the Falcons' Harold Perkins Jr. in the third quarter.However, the Bucsgenerated 321 yards of offense, all of it coming on the ground. Very muddy, soggy ground at that.

Bucky Irving rushed for 170 yards on 27 carries and scored the game's lone touchdown. Kenny Gainwell added another 140 yards rushing on 25 attempts. And Mayfield ran for 14 yards in the only offense he produced on Sunday.

The Buccaneers' win without any passing yards was only the second such game in the NFL during the Super Bowl era.

The Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets, 16-12, on Sept. 29, 1974 will Bills QB Joe Ferguson going 0-for-2 on passing. (Like Mayfield, he also rushed for 14 yards.) Jets Hall of Famer Joe Namath threw for 33 yards, completing 2 of 18 passes.

Fast-forwarding to 52 years later, Tampa Bay led 9-0 at halftime. But that score didn't convey just how miserable the game was to that point.

In one of the more curious halftime box scores ever seen, Mayfield had zero yards passing in the first two quarters with his two throws going incomplete. Yet the Buccaneers got three field goals from Chase McLaughlin to take the lead.

Tampa Bay did get offense from its running game with Irving rushing for 107 yards on 19 carries. The Bucs had 146 total yards at the half, all on the ground, with Gainwell contributing 27 yards and Mayfield rushing for 12.

Atlanta had 97 total yards at halftime, 67 of them on the ground from Bijan Robinson. But QB Michael Penix Jr. threw for 24 yards and three interceptions, completing 2 of 10 passes. His 24 yards were the only passing yards recorded after two quarters of play.

Penix finished 124 yards passing, but threw 4 interceptions while completing 8 of 24 throws. Jahan Dotson caught two of those passes for 95 yards, while Robinson ended up with 76 yards rushing on 19 carries.

For the Bucs, Sunday's win was their first at home this season and improved their record to 3-5. The Falcons are also 3-5 after the defeat and have lost three of their past four games. Both teams are tied for second in the NFC South, a half-game behind the first-place Carolina Panthers.