TAMPA, Fla. -- Baker Mayfield threw more downfield blocks than he had completions.
Mayfield didn't complete a pass but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 on Sunday behind Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell's huge days rushing on a wet, sloppy field.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win," Mayfield said after going 0-for-3 passing. "That's all that matters to me."
The Buccaneers (3-5) set a team record for yards rushing in a game with 324 and became the first team to have zero completions since Buffalo on Sept. 29, 1974. The Bills beat the Jets 16-12 in that one, which had been the only time an NFL team didn't complete a pass in the Super Bowl era.
Irving ran for 170 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries, and Gainwell ran for 140 on 25 carries. There had never been a game in NFL history where two teammates both had at least 25 rushing attempts and 125 rushing yards.
"Those guys up front, I see a different look in their eyes when it's time to run the ball," Irving said of an offensive line led by two-time Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs. "I'll go to war with those guys any day."
Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals to stay perfect this season at 19-for-19.
Playing in a driving rain for most of the afternoon, Mayfield handed off 52 times in his second game back after missing three weeks with a fractured thumb.
He got out in front when Gainwell reversed direction on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter, blocked Jessie Bates III and ended up in a puddle.
"If I'm not going to throw the ball, I have to get active somehow," Mayfield said. "Me and Jessie were out there playing in mud."
Tampa Bay finished with minus-2 net passing yards thanks to a sack. It got 100.6% of its offensive yards on the ground (324 of 322).
Michael Penix Jr. went 8-for-24 for 125 yards with four interceptions for Atlanta (3-5). Bijan Robinson was held to 76 yards on 19 carries.
"I had a lot of family in the stands, so for them to see that performance -- performance I never had in my life -- it kind of sucked, but we're going to shake that," Penix said.
Facing Kevin Stefanski, his former coach with Cleveland, Mayfield didn't have to do much with his arm. He scrambled for 13 yards while Irving and Gainwell piled up big numbers. Mayfield and Stefanski are the only QB-coach combination to win a playoff game for the Browns since the franchise returned in 1999, but they didn't have a close relationship. Mayfield was upset that Stefanski didn't reach out to him after the Browns traded him to Carolina in 2022.
Tampa Bay's previous rushing high was 283 yards -- including 235 from Doug Martin -- in a 45-17 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 22, 2015.
Irving's 4-yard TD run in the third quarter gave the Buccaneers a 16-0 lead, and the offense kept pounding the ball on the ground.
Nick Folk missed a 53-yard field goal wide left on Atlanta's opening series, and McLaughlin made one from 46 yards on the next series.
The Bucs missed an opportunity after Alex Anzalone picked off Penix at Atlanta's 41 and returned it 8 yards and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Drake London put the ball at the 18. Irving fumbled out of the end zone for a touchback after taking a lateral from Mayfield. Bates forced the fumble.
Anzalone picked off Penix again on Atlanta's next possession to set up Tampa Bay at the Falcons' 19. But the Buccaneers couldn't go anywhere and settled for McLaughlin's 34-yarder that made it 6-0.
After Jacob Parrish picked off Penix on a fourth-down pass at Tampa Bay's 17, the Buccaneers drove 65 yards and McLaughlin connected from 42 yards to extend the lead to 9-0.
Last week, Tampa Bay beat the Panthers 43-13 with Mayfield completing just seven of 11 passes for 64 yards.
The Bucs have won three of four since an 0-4 start and are just a half game behind Carolina (3-4) in the NFC South.
In the Jets-Bills game in 1974, Joe Ferguson was 0-for-2 for Buffalo, O.J. Simpson ran for 117 yards, and Ferguson and Jim Braxton each had rushing touchdowns. New York's Joe Namath completed just two of 18 passes for 33 yards.
In all, there now have been six games since 1940 where a team won without a completion, the others being: in December 1950, the Browns defeated the Eagles 13-7; in November 1945, the Steelers defeated the Chicago Cardinals 23-0; in October 1943, the Steelers defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 7-0; and in November 1941, the Steelers defeated the Dodgers 14-7.
Information from ESPN's Marc Raimondi, ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
