The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team in over 50 years to win a gamewithout a completed pass on Sunday in a rain-filled victory over the Atlanta Falcons
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield didn't complete a pass in Sunday's win(Image: Getty Images)
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It was remarkable that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 43-13 winners a week ago despite quarterback Baker Mayfield logging only 64 passing yards. Even more remarkable was the team's 16-0 Week 8 victory, in which Mayfield failed to complete even a single pass.
Mayfield, to be fair, has struggled with injuries this season and the game was played in a complete downpour, but this was still the worst statistical performance of his career. Still, the Buccaneers' home win over the Atlanta Falcons was the first NFL victory by a team without a completed pass since Sept. 29, 1974.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson was 0-2 in the game, relying on star running back OJ Simpson to beat the New York Jets 16-12.
Like Ferguson, Mayfield also relied on a dominant running game. Bucky Irving barreled for 170 yards, while fellow back Kenneth Gainwell rushed for 140.
The team's 324 rushing yards were a franchise record, easily eclipsing the cumulative 283 total from 2015 in a home win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The late Doug Martin rushed for 235 yards in the win.
Irving praised the offensive line. "Those guys up front, I see a different look in their eyes when it's time to run the ball," he said postgame. "I'll go to war with those guys any day."
Mayfield didn't complete any of his three passes, and he fumbled another one, though he did recover and scooped it for a five-yard gain.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win," he said postgame. "That's all that matters to me......If I'm not going to throw the ball, I have to get active somehow."
Six teams in NFL history (since records were well kept in 1940) have won without completing a pass. The Bills' win in 1974 was the only one outside of the 1940s.
Mayfield wasn't the only quarterback to struggle in the rain. Hometown kid Michael Penix Jr. managed to complete eight of his passes, though he attempted 24 overall.
He threw for 125 yards and four interceptions, recording a career-worst 7.1 QBR along the way. He also relied on his running game, but All-Pro back Bijan Robinson managed only 76 yards on 19 attempts against a stout Buccaneers front.
"The conditions are what the conditions are. Both teams have to play in it," he said postgame. "As a quarterback, as a leader, I have to protect the ball. That's the only way we're going to be able to win these games."