Every Record the Buccaneers Set in Historic Win Over Falcons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8. With that win, they moved within half a game of the NFC South lead and picked up their second win in a row for the first time in 385 days.

It isn't the fact that Tampa Bay won that has people talking, though — it's how Tampa Bay won. A rainy day brought a big change to the offensive game plan, and it resulted in a historic, record-breaking performance in Tampa Bay's 16-0 win.

Here's every record the Bucs became a part of when they beat the Falcons without completing a single pass:

Buccaneers a Part of Multiple Records in Win vs. Falcons

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) warms up before a game against the Atlanta Falcons | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and, by extension, quarterback Baker Mayfield — did not complete a pass against the Atlanta Falcons. That's an astonishing feat in itself, and it created a windfall that led to breaking more records.

The Bucs became the first NFL team since 1974 to win an NFL game without completing a pass. That game was on Sept. 9, 1974, when the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 16-12 in similarly rainy conditions.

The Falcons also set a new record on Sunday, though it's probably not one they're very proud of. Atlanta got shut out by the Bucs on Sunday, and with that, the Falcons became the first team to be shut out by a team that didn't complete a pass since 1942. Mayfield didn't complete a pass, but his passer rating (39.6) was higher than Falcons quarterback Michael Penix's (12.0).

With the conditions as they were, the Bucs had to run the football a lot, and oh, did they. The Bucs toted the rock to the tune of 324 rushing yards, which broke the franchise record for most rushing yards in a game — that record was previously set in 2015 against the Philadelphia Eagles, when the Bucs had 283 rushing yards that day.

Tampa Bay may not have passed much at all on Sunday, but it didn't last Sunday, either. Over the last two games the Bucs have played, they've completed just seven passes on 14 attempts — despite that, they've won both of those games by a combined 59-13.

The Bucs are set to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football in Week 9 on Nov. 8. They probably won't be able to win that game by completing fewer than 10 passes, but at this point, we're open to believing.

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