Buccaneers Beat Falcons 16-0 Without Completing a Pass, Rushing for a Team-Record 324 Yards

By The Arena Staff

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 1, 2026 — Baker Mayfield's best work on Sunday came as a lead blocker.

The Tampa Bay quarterback did not complete a pass, going 0 for 3 in a driving rain, and the Buccaneers still beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0. Tampa Bay handed the ball off 52 times and ran for 324 yards, a franchise record, according to The Associated Press. The old mark was 283 yards in a 45-17 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 22, 2015, a day when Doug Martin ran for 235.

No NFL team had gone a full game without a completion since the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 29, 1974, when they beat the New York Jets 16-12. That had been the only such game in the Super Bowl era, the AP said. And according to NFL research, the Bucs became the first team to win by double digits without completing a pass since the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Chicago Cardinals 23-0 on Nov. 11, 1945.

Bucky Irving carried 27 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Gainwell added 140 yards on 25 carries. Irving's 4-yard run in the third quarter made it 16-0. Chase McLaughlin supplied the rest with field goals of 46, 34 and 42 yards and is 19 for 19 this season.

Mayfield, in his second game back from a fractured thumb, seemed to enjoy himself anyway. On a 28-yard Gainwell run in the fourth quarter he got out in front, blocked safety Jessie Bates III and ended up in a puddle. "If I'm not gonna throw the ball, I have to get active somehow," Mayfield said. "Me and Jessie were out there playing in mud." His bottom line was simpler. "I'll do whatever it takes to win," he said.

The Tampa Bay defense made sure the passing numbers did not matter. Michael Penix Jr. went 8 for 24 for 125 yards and threw four interceptions, two of them to linebacker Alex Anzalone and one to Jacob Parrish on a fourth-down throw. Bijan Robinson was held to 76 yards on 19 carries. "We have to want it," Atlanta coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Both teams are 3-5. The Buccaneers, who have won three of four since an 0-4 start, sit a half-game behind Carolina in the NFC South and visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. The Falcons head to Madrid to face the Cincinnati Bengals.

Video: Falcons vs. Bucs Full Game Highlights on the Buccaneers' official YouTube channel.

Sources: AP via CBS Sports and Buccaneers.com.