The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shut out the Atlanta Falcons by winning 16-0 in the NFC South showdown on Sunday. While it was an impressive win to hold the Falcons to zero scores, it was even more extraordinary to hear how the Buccaneers won. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't throw a single completed pass during the 60 minutes of game time.
He only threw three pass attempts in the game. All of the Tampa Bay receivers ended with zero receiving yards. This is the first time an NFL team won by completing zero passes since 1974 when the Buffalo Bills did so, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
So, if this sounds like a rare occurrence, it's because it is. So, how did the Buccaneers pull off the miraculous win? Well, it helped that Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw four interceptions in the game, and he fumbled the ball once.
There weren't many completions on both teams as Penix only completed eight of the 24 pass attempts he threw. Those eight catches totaled 125 receiving yards for the Falcons. The Buccaneers obviously relied solely on their rushing game on Sunday as the team totaled 324 rushing yards during the game.
Running back Bucky Irving led the team with 170 yards on 27 carries while scoring Tampa Bay's lone touchdown. Kenny Gainwell had 25 carries for 140 yards. Then, Mayfield added 14 rushing yards from four carries.
The rest of the Buccaneers' points came from the three field goals kicker Chase McLaughlin made. It was raining pretty heavily in Tampa Bay, which is probably why the Buccaneers elected to run the ball more than throw it. Even though it wasn't the most ideal performance from the Buccaneers' offense, a win is a win.
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