The first day of November came with a big boost for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers camp as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0. What made their win even praise-worthy was the rushing attack on a wet and sloppy field. That’s what led former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette to be low on praise for Baker Mayfield.

“So now this is the main dollar question: was he worked at 100 million dollars?” Fournette said. 

“No, I mean it wasn’t his I wouldn’t say it was totally his fault. I think last week they did whatever they needed to do to win,” former WR Jarvis Landry replied. 

“I knew that was your QB1 at one point, but let’s keep it real. That hundred million they could have gave that to me. Bro, they could have gave it to Bucky [Irving] and them because they’re the ones carrying the team right now, Joe,” Fournette added.

Mayfield became part of a bizarre history in the NFL by becoming the first quarterback to win a game without completing a single pass since 1974. It clearly showed how Tampa Bay relied on its rushing attack.

This came after the quarterback and the Buccaneers struck a deal on a three-year contract extension, worth $165 million, five days before they entered the 2026 regular season. 

While Mayfield’s season stats have declined to 169.8 yards per game with five turnovers, the Falcons game highlighted how the rushing attack – not Mayfield’s arm – won the game. Against Atlanta, the Bucs barely needed Mayfield’s arm, as the quarterback threw just three passes while the team’s rushing attack piled up a record-breaking 324 yards on 56 attempts. Adding to his struggles, he has committed five turnovers, two more than his total of three touchdown passes this season.

On the flip side, Irving was the driving force behind the Buccaneers’ offense. He finished with a career-high yardage total of 170 yards, surpassing 100 rushing yards for the third time this season. Irving now has 728 rushing yards and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry.

Naturally, the expectations are soaring high for him. ESPN’s Benjamin Solak pointed to Irving’s recent workload as evidence of his return to full health. The running back had registered 120 carries and 558 rushing yards walking into the Atlanta game.

“Irving and [Kenneth] Gainwell have the decisiveness to hit the hole quickly when it opens, but also the agility to bounce to a backside when the intended gap gets gummed up,” he wrote in his column. 

The only mistake on Bucky’s part came in the first quarter of the game when Falcons safety Jessie Bates forced a fumble by knocking the ball loose from Irving’s arm just short of the goal line. The play prevented Tampa Bay from scoring and resulted in a touchback, allowing Atlanta to take over at its own 20.

Even Fournette stressed the factor that he cut a few marks from Irving’s report card.  

“Bucky for mo**********. Bucky, let’s get on this” the former running back shared. “That could have been a part of your set your stats. What are we doing? But and, Bucky, you’re wrong, Bucky. You’re running the ball like this (imitates a hand gesture). What are we doing Bucky? Jarvis, you know, you’re not supposed to run the ball like that. I don’t care about no weather, Bucky, tuck it.”

Yet he takes a stand for Irving. The running back’s contract will be up for a contract extension next year after he signed a four-year contract in 2024 worth $4,751,552, according to Spotrac. 

It’s now to be seen whether the Falcons face-off opens the Buccaneers’ eyes.