The Buccaneers Played Prehistoric Football And Won

It’s wise to never expect too much from a clash between two NFC South teams. They tend to be a form of stultifying anti-entertainment, and so today’s game between the Falcons and Buccaneers would normally be an easy skip. The NFC South has felt a little different this year, though, and not because any of its teams are playing particularly good football. What they have been doing is playing weird, entertaining football, and today the Bucs and Falcons played what might end up being the weirdest and most entertaining game of the season.

A huge rainstorm rolled into Tampa, Fla. this morning, absolutely soaking the Bucs’ field and creating the kind of conditions that would make any offensive coordinator squeamish about calling a passing play. Now imagine how much more stressful that scenario becomes when the quarterbacks at their disposal are Baker Mayfield and Michael Penix, Jr. Facing these conditions, the Buccaneers came up with a novel strategy: What if we just didn’t throw a pass?

Well, OK, they threw three passes, but none of them were completed. Mayfield’s final stat line: 0-3 for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Any football game that produces a quarterback box score like that is already a thing to behold, but this one was made truly special by the fact that the Bucs won the game, 16-0. They did so by running the ball 56 times for 324 yards. Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell each got to live out every running back’s fantasy: Irving finished with 170 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and Gainwell chipped in with 140 yards on 25 carries. The game’s representative highlight was probably Mayfield fumbling a snap and scrambling for a few seconds before throwing a desperate backwards pass to Irving, who churned through the rain and mud before fumbling the ball right at the goal line.