Tampa Bay shut out Atlanta 16-0, improving to 3-5 and moving back into contention near the top of the NFC South.
The win also came with an unusual bit of NFL history: the Buccaneers didn’t complete a single pass, a feat no team had managed in a victory since 1974.
Baker Mayfield tried just three passes, all in the first half, and none were completed. Heavy rain made throwing difficult early, and Tampa Bay increasingly relied on its ground game. Bucky Irving ran for 170 yards, while Kenny Gainwell added 133.
The Buccaneers are now the sixth team in league history to win without a completion. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers 14-7 in 1941 without attempting a pass. Pittsburgh did it again the next season, winning 7-0 as Bill Dudley and Andy Tomasic went 0-for-7.
The Steelers pulled off another such win in 1945, defeating the Chicago Cardinals 23-0. Dudley and Buss Warren went a combined 0-for-8, but scored three rushing touchdowns between them.
Cleveland became the next team to do it, beating Philadelphia 13-7 in 1950 without attempting a pass.
The last pass-free win before Tampa Bay’s came in 1974, when Buffalo defeated the New York Jets 16-12 in rain and wind. Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson went 0-for-2, while Joe Namath completed just two of 18 passes for 33 yards and threw three interceptions.
Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had a rough day against Tampa Bay, too, throwing four interceptions. The Buccaneers wound up catching more passes from the Falcons’ quarterback than from their own.
