The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t need to complete a pass in Sunday’s 16-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first NFL team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win a game without a completion.
The victory counts just the same, as Tampa Bay rose to 3-5 on the year, just 1/2 a game behind the Carolina Panthers for the division lead.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” said quarterback Baker Mayfield, who tossed incompletions on all three of his pass attempts. “That’s all that matters to me.”
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The Buccaneers and Falcons played through torrential downpours throughout Sunday’s game. However, Atlanta’s Michael Penix managed to throw for 125 yards, finishing 8-of-24 with three interceptions.
Tampa Bay relied on a stout running game and stifling defense to escape with their third win in four weeks after a 0-4 start. Buccaneers running backs Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell combined for 290 yards on the ground, eating up chunks of yardage at a time.
The performance was an absolute anomaly. Only six NFL teams since 1940 have managed to win without a completion. The Pittsburgh Steelers did it in 1941 and 1943, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers both times.
Pittsburgh did it again against the Chicago Cardinals in 1945. The Cleveland Browns secured a pass-less victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1950. There was then a 52-year gap between the Bills’ wonky win in 1974 and Sunday’s head-scratching game.
The Buccaneers became the first team since the 1933 Boston Braves — the franchise that later became the Washington Commanders — to rush for more than 300 yards while failing to complete a pass.
Mayfield added 14 yards as a rusher on four attempts to push Tampa Bay into that historical territory.
“If I’m not going to throw the ball, I have to get active somehow,” he said, also noting a block he placed on Falcons safety Jessie Bates III. “Me and Jessie were out there playing in mud.”
Mayfield has struggled to pass the ball in his two games since returning from a thumb injury. He completed just seven of 11 passes for 64 yards in his squad’s Week 7 win over the Panthers.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles hadn’t heard of a win without a completion before Sunday’s victory.
“But there’s a first time for everything,” he told reporters.
The Buccaneers travel to Chicago next Sunday night to face the Bears in primetime.
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