The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not complete a pass and still shut out the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 on Sunday, November 1, at a rain-soaked Raymond James Stadium. Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 170 yards, Kenny Gainwell added 140, and the defense intercepted Michael Penix Jr. four times.
Baker Mayfield went 0 for 3. Tampa Bay is the first team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win without a completion, and its 324 rushing yards broke the franchise single-game record of 283, set at Philadelphia in 2015. Both teams are now 3-5; the Buccaneers have won three of four since an 0-4 start.
Anzalone strikes twice
Atlanta drove into Tampa Bay territory on its first possession, but Nick Folk missed a 53-yard field goal wide left. Chase McLaughlin answered from 46 yards. On the Falcons’ next snap, Alex Anzalone stepped in front of a throw for Drake London, and a personal foul on London moved the ball to the Atlanta 18.
Tampa Bay came away empty there. Mayfield pitched to Irving, who was stripped by Jessie Bates III near the goal line, and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback. Anzalone intercepted Penix again on Atlanta’s next series, and McLaughlin kicked a 34-yarder for a 6-0 lead.
Running out the clock in the rain
Jacob Parrish picked off a fourth-down throw at the Tampa Bay 17 early in the second quarter. The Buccaneers then kept it on the ground for a 13-play, 60-yard drive that took 8:29 and ended with McLaughlin’s 42-yarder for a 9-0 halftime lead. Atlanta was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Tampa Bay 36 just before the break.
The only touchdown came late in the third quarter. Tampa Bay went 90 yards in six plays, with Irving breaking a 46-yard run and Gainwell adding 28 yards, and Irving finished it from 4 yards out for a 16-0 lead with 3:47 left in the period. Zyon McCollum ended Atlanta’s next drive with an interception at the Tampa Bay 14, and the Falcons’ last chance died on a fourth-and-2 incompletion from the 14 with 3:15 to play.
The numbers
- Bucky Irving: 27 carries for 170 yards and a touchdown, his career high.
- Kenny Gainwell: 25 carries for 140 yards. Tampa Bay ran 56 times for 324 yards, 5.8 per carry, and held the ball for 35:16.
- Baker Mayfield: 0 of 3 passing, sacked once, four carries for 14 yards. He was in his second game back from a fractured thumb.
- Buccaneers defense: four interceptions (two by Anzalone, one each by Parrish and McCollum) and a third-down stop on all 12 Atlanta attempts.
- Chase McLaughlin: field goals of 46, 34 and 42 yards; he is 19 for 19 this season.
- Michael Penix Jr.: 8 of 24 for 125 yards and four interceptions. Jahan Dotson had a 76-yard catch among his two receptions for 95 yards.
- Bijan Robinson: 19 carries for 76 yards.
What it means
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Mayfield said. “That’s all that matters to me.” With the conditions this bad, Tampa Bay simply leaned on Tristan Wirfs and the offensive line, and Irving said the group had “a different look in their eyes when it’s time to run the ball.” You can read how Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield explained the run-only plan, and Irving’s own take on his career day.
For Atlanta and coach Kevin Stefanski, the offense went 0 for 12 on third down and turned it over four times without scoring. “We have to want it,” Stefanski said. Receiver Zachariah Branch and edge rusher Samson Ebukam left with hamstring injuries, and Tampa Bay lost YaYa Diaby to a knee injury in the first quarter.
What comes next
Atlanta faces the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid next Sunday. Tampa Bay visits the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.
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