Buccaneers Beat Falcons 16-0 Without Completing a Single Pass in the Rain

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, without completing a single pass, becoming the first NFL team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win a game in that fashion. Quarterback Baker Mayfield finished 0-for-3 for zero yards in driving rain, but Tampa Bay ran 56 times for a team-record 324 yards, intercepted Michael Penix Jr. four times, and recorded its first home victory of the season.

Key Points

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 in Week 8 at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
• Baker Mayfield finished 0-for-3 with zero passing yards, making Tampa Bay the first team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win without completing a pass.
• Bucky Irving ran 27 times for a career-high 170 yards and the game's only touchdown, and Kenny Gainwell added a career-high 140 yards on 25 carries.
• Tampa Bay ran for a team-record 324 yards, while Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and stayed perfect on the season at 19-for-19.
• Michael Penix Jr. completed 8 of 24 passes for 125 yards and four interceptions for Atlanta, which finished with 224 total yards.

What Happened

Rain poured down on Raymond James Stadium for most of the afternoon, and Tampa Bay never pretended otherwise. The Buccaneers got out to an early lead with field goals, then simply kept running the ball and dared Atlanta to come back in the wet conditions. By the end of the third quarter, Tampa Bay led 16-0, and the fourth quarter was a formality: Atlanta never scored, and Tampa Bay kept pounding the ball on the ground.

The scoring was simple, and that was the point. Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals, and Bucky Irving scored the game's only touchdown on a four-yard run late in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 16-0. Irving celebrated with running back Kenny Gainwell after the score, and from there Tampa Bay's defence did the rest. Atlanta's only scoring chance ended with Nick Folk missing his only field-goal attempt, and the Falcons never seriously threatened again.

Mayfield's stat line will be the one that lives in the record books: 0-for-3, zero yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, a 39.6 passer rating, one sack, three fumbles, all recovered by himself, and 14 yards on four runs. He threw three passes all day and completed none, in his second game back after missing three weeks with a fractured thumb. A week earlier, Tampa Bay had beaten Carolina 43-13 with Mayfield completing just 7 of 11 passes for 64 yards, so the pattern was already forming; on Sunday, the passing game disappeared entirely, and Tampa Bay won anyway.

Atlanta's passing game, by contrast, was busy and disastrous. Penix Jr. completed only 8 of 24 passes for 125 yards and threw four interceptions, more interceptions than Mayfield attempted passes. Linebacker Alex Anzalone picked off two passes himself, and Tampa Bay's defence, which came into the game with the league's second-ranked pass defence, held Atlanta to 224 total yards. The Falcons, who came in at 3-4, left Tampa at 3-5, with no points and no answers for Tampa Bay's ground game.

Background: Buccaneers Falcons 16-0

The history of this result is what makes it remarkable. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Tampa Bay became the first team since the Buffalo Bills on September 29, 1974, to win a game without completing a pass. On that day, the Bills beat the New York Jets 16-12, with Joe Ferguson going 0-for-2, and that had been the only such win in the Super Bowl era until Sunday. Tampa Bay is now only the third team in NFL history to win a game without completing a pass, and the first to do it in 52 years.

The rushing numbers explain how it was possible. Irving carried 27 times for 170 yards, a 6.3-yard average, with a long run of 46 yards, setting a career high in rushing yards. Gainwell, in a reserve role, carried 25 times for 140 yards, also a career high, and the pair combined for 310 of Tampa Bay's 324 rushing yards. Tampa Bay ran it 56 times in total, setting a team record for rushing yards in a game, and the offence never needed a completion because it never needed to throw: the rain made the running game the priority for both sides, and Tampa Bay was far better at it.

Mayfield's return from injury is part of the story. He missed three weeks with a fractured thumb, returned last Sunday against Carolina, and has now completed just seven passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the two games since his return, with Sunday's 0-for-3 the extreme end of that trend. The Buccaneers did not ask him to do more on Sunday, and in the rain, with Irving and Gainwell running as they were, they did not need him to. McLaughlin's three field goals, meanwhile, kept him perfect on the season at 19-for-19, and his early kicks gave Tampa Bay a lead it never gave up.

Reactions

The reaction to the game centred on disbelief, and then on history. A team winning 16-0 without completing a pass sounds like a misprint in a modern NFL box score, where quarterbacks routinely throw 30 or 40 times a game. Yet the box score is real: Mayfield 0-for-3, Tampa Bay 324 rushing yards, Atlanta four interceptions, and a shutout. The comparisons to 1974 came immediately, because that is how long it has been since the league last saw a win like this, and because the Bills' 16-12 win over the Jets is the only Super Bowl-era precedent.

For Tampa Bay, the reaction inside the team will be about the running game and the defence, not about the passing line. Irving's career-high 170 yards, Gainwell's career-high 140 yards, Anzalone's two interceptions and a shutout in the rain are all performances to build on, and they came in a game Tampa Bay had to win. The Buccaneers had started 0-4 at home, and this was their first home victory of the season, snapping that skid and lifting them to 3-5 after winning three of their last four games since an 0-4 start.

For Atlanta, the reaction will be far less comfortable. Four interceptions from Penix Jr., 224 total yards, no points and a missed field goal is a complete offensive failure, even allowing for the rain. The Falcons were in the game on paper, at 3-4 against a 2-5 Tampa Bay team, but they were never in it on the field, and the four interceptions, including two by Anzalone, told the story of a quarterback and an offence that could not handle the conditions or Tampa Bay's defence.

Why It Matters

The win matters first because it keeps Tampa Bay alive in the NFC South. At 3-5, after winning three of four since an 0-4 start, the Buccaneers are back in contention in a division where no team has run away from the field. A shutout win, even a strange one, counts the same as any other win, and a first home victory ends a skid that had become a talking point in its own right. Tampa Bay's running game, with Irving and Gainwell both over 140 yards, is now a proven identity the team can lean on while Mayfield's thumb continues to heal.

It matters second because of the history. A win without a completed pass had not happened in 52 years, and it may not happen again for another 52. The modern NFL is built around passing, and a team winning by running 56 times for 324 yards, kicking three field goals and intercepting the other quarterback four times is a throwback to a different era of football. That Tampa Bay did it in the rain, at home, against a division rival, only adds to the story.

For Atlanta, at 3-5, the defeat matters because it exposes the same problems that have held the Falcons back all season: turnovers, an inability to score, and an offence that cannot find a rhythm when conditions are difficult. Penix Jr.'s four interceptions were the difference between a close, low-scoring game and a shutout, and the Falcons will need to fix that quickly if they are to stay in the NFC South race themselves.

What Happens Next

Tampa Bay will try to build on this win, and on the formula that produced it. Irving and Gainwell have now both set career highs in the same game, McLaughlin is perfect on field goals, and the defence has shown it can win a game on its own. The question for the Buccaneers is whether Mayfield's passing can return as his thumb heals, because a team cannot expect to win every week without completing a pass. Sunday proved it can win once that way; the rest of the season will test whether the running game and defence can carry the team until the passing game catches up.

Atlanta, meanwhile, must regroup quickly. The Falcons are 3-5, with four interceptions and no points to show for a trip to Tampa, and they will need Penix Jr. to protect the ball far better in their next game. A shutout loss in a division game is the kind of defeat that can linger, and the Falcons' next task is to prove that Sunday was about the rain and Tampa Bay's defence, not about a deeper problem with their offence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the final score of Buccaneers vs Falcons on November 1, 2026?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

How many passes did Baker Mayfield complete against Atlanta?

Baker Mayfield completed none of his three pass attempts, finishing 0-for-3 for zero passing yards, yet Tampa Bay still won 16-0.

When was the last time a team won without completing a pass?

The last time before Sunday was September 29, 1974, when the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets 16-12 with Joe Ferguson going 0-for-2. Tampa Bay is the third team in NFL history to win without completing a pass.

How many rushing yards did Tampa Bay gain against Atlanta?

Tampa Bay ran 56 times for 324 yards, a team record, led by Bucky Irving with 170 yards and Kenny Gainwell with 140 yards.

What are the Buccaneers' and Falcons' records now?

Both teams are now 3-5 after Tampa Bay's 16-0 win, with Tampa Bay recording its first home victory of the season.

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Sources: Associated Press via Sportsnet, Bucs Wire (USA Today), Athlon Sports, Sporting News, NBC Sports Bay Area and Men's Journal, November 1, 2026. The featured image is an illustrative generated stadium scene, not an actual game photograph.