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SI:AM | The Weirdest NFL Game in 50 Years

The Buccaneers looked like they were playing rugby as they ground out a win over the Falcons.
Dan Gartland|
Bucky Irving and the Bucs became the first team in a half-century not to complete a pass.
Bucky Irving and the Bucs became the first team in a half-century not to complete a pass. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this story:

Tampa Bay BuccaneersAtlanta Falcons

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I can’t believe the Bucs made three field goals in that weather. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
🌧️ Bucs win a sloppy one
😬 Lamar’s worrisome injury
🏈 Candidates to replace Norvell

If you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribe and receive SI:AM directly in your inbox each morning.

Old-school football

When most sports fans turn on the TV, they’re hoping to see a great game. But I’d just as gladly see something totally bizarre. Sure, a back-and-forth baseball game is fun, and so is a basketball game that ends on a buzzer beater. But yesterday’s Falcons-Buccaneers game was just as compelling—for totally different reasons. 

Tampa Bay won 16–0, and did so without completing a pass. It’s just the second time in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) that a team went an entire game without connecting on a forward pass. The last time it happened was in 1974, when the Bills beat the Jets on a windy day in Buffalo. Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson didn’t connect on either of his two pass attempts, while Joe Namath went 2-for-18. 

Heavy rain and wind in Tampa yesterday made it nearly impossible for either team to pass the ball. Baker Mayfield attempted just three passes, while Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. went 8-for-24 with four interceptions. You can watch the highlights here if you want to see a modern NFL team take the game back to its leather helmet roots. 

The Bucs didn’t need to pass the ball. Not when they were gashing the Falcons on the ground as they were. Bucky Irving had 27 carries for 170 yards and the game’s lone touchdown, and Kenneth Gainwell had 140 yards on 25 carries. The Bucs had 322 yards of total offense, tied for their second-most this season. The Falcons knew what was coming but still couldn’t stop it. Tampa Bay mostly lined up in two- and three-tight-end sets and outmuscled Atlanta to create big holes for its running backs to glide through. 

There aren’t many teams better equipped for a game like that than the Bucs. Rushing offense has been Tampa Bay’s strong suit all season. The Bucs entered the game ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry. Now they’re tied with the Chiefs atop the leaderboard, while Irving is fourth in the league in rushing yards. 

The only other time in the last half-century that we’ve seen a game even vaguely like this one was in 2021, when the Patriots beat the Bills in a game derailed by strong winds. New England’s Mac Jones attempted just three passes, completing two of them. That was the only time since that 1974 game that a team attempted no more than three passes in a game. 

The Bucs’ 56 rushing attempts were the most by any team since the Jets ran 57 times in 20° weather against the Bengals in January 2010. They became the first team since the 1981 Steelers to have that many carries while also averaging at least 5.7 yards per attempt. Irving and Gainwell are the only teammates in NFL history to each have at least 25 carries and 140 rushing yards in the same game. 

It wasn’t the most exciting game of the day, but it had to have been the most interesting. And it was certainly a memorable one for Bucs fans. Tampa Bay started the season 0–4 but has since won three out of its past four games to get back in the mix in the mediocre NFC South. The Bucs and Falcons are both 3–5, while the Panthers hold the top spot in the division at 3–4. (The Saints are bringing up the rear at 2–5.) It’s highly plausible that by Week 18, the Bucs’ rugby-style win over a division rival could be the difference between making and missing the playoffs. 

The best of Sports Illustrated

Lamar Jackson throws a pass
Lamar Jackson may miss the rest of the season with an injured thumb. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The top five…

Kenneth Gainwell runs the ball
Kenneth Gainwell slashed through the Falcons’ defense as the Bucs overcame the weather in a 16–0 win. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

… things I saw yesterday: 
5. This hilariously chaotic 17 seconds of soccer played by Nashville SC and the New York Red Bulls. 
4. Gardner Minshew’s game-tying touchdown pass to Michael Wilson after entering the game in relief of Jacoby Brissett. The Cardinals went on to beat the Cowboys in overtime. 
3. Connor McDavid’s blazing speed to score less than a minute into the Oilers’ game against the Rangers. 
2. Kenneth Gainwell’s 28-yard run with multiple broken tackles. 
1. Jahmyr Gibbs’s tough 30-yard touchdown run. 

📺 What we’re watching today …

NFL

Bears at Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Last week both teams made a trade to improve in the trenches and those players will face off against each other. The Bears will debut newly acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (traded by the Titans), who will match up against Seattle's newly acquired Pro Bowl left guard, Quenton Nelson.

Men’s College Basketball

No. 14 Miami vs. No. 1 Florida in Tampa, 6 p.m. ET,  ESPN2
Memphis vs. No. 18 Iowa State in Sioux Falls, S.D., 7 p.m. ET, FS1
Purdue vs. No. 15 Gonzaga in Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 22 UCLA vs. No. 5 Arizona in Las Vegas, 10 p.m. ET, TNT

Women's college basketball

No. 20 Maryland vs. No. 1 South Carolina in Paris, noon ET, ESPN
Arizona vs. Stanford, 1:30 p.m. ET, in Las Vegas, CBSSN
No. 21 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 North Carolina in Paris, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 3 USC vs. UNLV in Las Vegas, 4 p.m. ET, CBSSN

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland writes Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and is the host of the “Stadium Wonders” video series. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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