Sunday’s 16-0 Bucs win over the Falcons might’ve been one of the weirder games quarterback Baker Mayfield will ever play, as he attempted just three passes, completed zero and handed the ball off 52 times in an absolute downpour at Raymond James Stadium.

Tampa Bay became the first team since 1974 to win a game with zero completions, and while Mayfield may not have thought he’d have a game with even fewer than the 11 passes he attempted in the team’s Week 7 win at Carolina, this was a job well done as far as he was concerned.

“It’s winning – that’s the way I think about it,” Mayfield said after the game. “We won. [It’s] getting our guys lined up, making sure we are running the right run plays. Obviously, ball security [is crucial] in these conditions – we had some early ones. We decided to go to the shotgun and pistol sets – it’s just easier to receive the snaps instead of it coming back through your hands under center. So, going from there and just trying to manage the game. [It’s] time management and just trying to bleed the clock as much as possible.

“Just get everybody on the same page and go from there. That’s my job in these conditions and, listen, I will do whatever it takes to win. That’s all that matters to me.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Bucky Irving ran 27 times for a career-high 170 yards and a touchdown, while Kenny Gainwell also ran for a career-high 140 yards on 25 carries. Mayfield added 14 yards on four carries himself, and overall, the Bucs ran the ball 56 times for a franchise-record 324 yards. After an effort in which his quarterback had more rushing attempts than passes attempted, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles had plenty of praise for Mayfield’s role in yet another run-heavy victory.

“He’s played great quarterback play,” Bowles said. “He’s gotten in and out of plays, understanding situations and where the blitz is coming from and getting us into the right play and checking the right call at the right time. He’s instrumental in all of this.”

Baker Mayfield Found Another Way To “Get Active” In The Bucs’ Win

While Baker Mayfield attempted only three passes, completed zero and rushed the ball four times for 14 yards in the Bucs’ 16-0 win over the Falcons on Sunday afternoon, the quarterback known for being one of the game’s grittiest found another way to get involved in the second half.

As Kenny Gainwell worked his way through cut after cut on his longest run of the day, Mayfield found himself in the open field. And as he often does despite being a 6-foot-1, 215-pound quarterback, he was looking for the nearest defender to latch onto and block. This time around, that defender turned out to be Atlanta safety Jessie Bates III, one of the league’s best playmakers and a guy who denied Tampa Bay an early touchdown with a goal-line punch out that went for a touchback.

And, well, even if other Falcons defenders were in the process of finally getting Gainwell to the ground after his 28-yard run, Mayfield made sure Bates wasn’t going to factor into the play. Mayfield engaged in his block and made sure to finish it, driving Bates toward the Buccaneer tunnel and into the mud.

There was a brief coming-together between Mayfield and Bates in the mud after the play was over, and that sequence even saw an official take a tumble into the mud himself. Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke eventually made his way over to defend his quarterback, and that was that.

But it was quite the moment from the Bucs’ $55 million man, whose mentality tends to skew away from that of your average quarterback.

“You know, if I’m not going to throw the ball, I have to get active somehow,” Mayfield said after the game. “Me and Jessie were out there playing in the mud.”

As for Goedeke’s take on it? In addition to being ready to stick up for his quarterback after the play, he was fired up. And after the game, he made sure to give Mayfield some high praise for his blocking prowess, which has been on full display a time or two throughout his tenure in Tampa Bay.

“Yeah, he was in the mud puddle over there. He’s a great blocker. He took Bates all the way to the… He almost took him back to his locker room. Yeah, it looked like a puddle over there. I thought someone was going to drown.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

“But Bake, he throws some great blocks, too. Just guys get out in space and he’s running down the field, and Bucky makes a guy miss and Bake throws a block. That’s just a testament to the selflessness we have on this team.”

Mayfield has surely had more memorable performances over his 30 wins and 59 games as the Buccaneers’ quarterback. But that block on Bates is one that will garner plenty of attention and potentially show up in a highlight reel or two by the time his days in Tampa Bay are finished.

Not to mention, it’s plays like that one that’ll continue to make him a favorite among his teammates in the locker room.