The Buccaneers didn’t need Baker Mayfield’s arm to beat the Falcons on Sunday, and that alone made for one of the strangest quarterback lines the league has seen in a long time.
Tampa Bay rolled to a 16-0 win over Atlanta in a rain-soaked divisional game at Raymond James Stadium, while Mayfield finished 0-of-3 passing. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and ESPN, the Bucs became the first team to win a game without its quarterback completing a pass since Joe Ferguson went 0-for-2 for the 1974 Buffalo Bills.
The weather had plenty to do with the ugly passing numbers, and Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made things worse for Atlanta by throwing four interceptions. Still, the stat jumps off the page in any era, let alone this one.
Mayfield has now completed only seven passes for 64 yards and one touchdown since returning last Sunday, but he kept his focus on the bigger picture after the win. “Baker Mayfield says it’s ‘big time' that the Bucs were able to top 300 rushing yards against the league’s fourth-ranked run defense and with the opposing team knowing you are going to run,” senior writer Scott Smith posted on X.
That ground game carried Tampa Bay all afternoon. Bucky Irving ran 27 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, while Kenny Gainwell piled up 140 yards on 25 carries. Mayfield added 14 yards on the ground as the Buccaneers controlled the game without asking him to do much through the air.
The result keeps Tampa Bay right in the NFC South mix, but the offense can’t live like this forever. Mayfield was already averaging fewer than 170 passing yards entering the matchup, and the Bucs will need more balance as the schedule moves on.
That challenge gets real next Sunday night, when Tampa Bay faces a Chicago Bears front that just added All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. The Buccaneers may not be able to lean on the run the same way, which means Mayfield will have to shake off the rust and be ready for a full workload.
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