Buccaneers Blank Falcons 16-0 Without Completing a Pass, First Team to Do So in 52 Years
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the visiting Atlanta Falcons 16-0 in the rain at Raymond James Stadium on November 1 in Week 8 of the NFL season. According to Reuters, Tampa Bay did not complete a single pass all game, becoming the first team in 52 years to win that way.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield attempted only three passes and completed none. The last winning team with zero completions was the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets on September 29, 1974, when Joe Ferguson went 0-for-2. Tampa Bay instead won on the ground, piling up a franchise-record 324 rushing yards. Bucky Irving ran 27 times for a career-high 170 yards and scored the game's only touchdown on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, while Kenny Gainwell also set a career high with 140 rushing yards.
Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals (46, 34 and 42 yards) to account for all nine of Tampa Bay's first-half points. The Buccaneers defense intercepted Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. four times — twice by Alex Anzalone and once each by Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum — while Penix finished 8 of 24 for 125 yards. Atlanta's Nick Folk missed a 53-yard field goal early, and Irving lost a near-touchdown when Jessie Bates III forced a fumble through the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Penix hit Jahan Dotson for 76 yards to the Tampa Bay 22, but the Falcons turned the ball over on downs and never scored.
Tampa Bay won its second straight to reach 3-5, pulling within a half-game of the Carolina Panthers for first place in the NFC South. Atlanta also fell to 3-5, losing for the third time in four games.
Related: Falcons elevate Herbert and Asamoah to game-day roster for November 1 trip to Tampa Bay
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：本场比赛场馆 Raymond James Stadium 航拍（资料图）。Devin Morris 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: an aerial view of Raymond James Stadium, the venue of this game. Photo by Devin Morris, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
