AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) – If you thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to upset the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, then congratulations, you were on the right side of one of the biggest upsets this NFL season.
In a game many expected the 9.5-point favorites to run away with the Cowboys, the Buccaneers put on a strong performance on the road for most of the night, winning 24-16. The win was Tampa Bay’s first of the season, coming as head coach Todd Bowles dealt with ongoing hot seat talk.
Now, will coach Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys face the same words after falling to 2-3 on the season? Here are my takeaways from the Buccaneers’ upset win over the Cowboys.
This could have been a prime-time showcase for Dak Prescott against a winless opponent, a chance to elevate the Cowboys and show them as a worthy contender in a muddled NFC East.
But Prescott struggled to complete passes to his two elite receivers for the first three quarters of Thursday night’s game, so much so that he was shaken in his stadium after a fourth-down pass sailed high and incomplete.
Credit Bucs corners Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish for keeping CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in check. Entering the fourth quarter, Pickens had 63 yards on eight carries, and Lamb was held to 9 yards on five carries.
Dallas averaged 30 points per game, second best in the NFL. But after marching down the field to score on their first drive, the Cowboys managed three points on their next seven drives.
It was impressive that the Cowboys put up a game-high 99 yards in the fourth quarter after a stop at the 1-yard line. But it was too little, too late. The Cowboys’ final drive reached the Bucs’ 33, but any shot at a tying score was ended when a Prescott pass was deflected by Jake Ferguson and picked off by linebacker Alex Anzalone.
Prescott finished the night completing 24 of 42 passes for 316 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. At one point in the third quarter, Prescott was 13 of 27 for just 117 yards, if you took out his 48-yard catch to Ryan Flournoy right before halftime.
The hope had been that new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker could help that defense take a big step forward in 2026, but we haven’t seen those five games.
Dallas came in with a bottom-five defense in nearly every category, and Tampa wisely attacked their struggles against the run. Bucky Irving’s 72-yard run was a big part of the damage, but midway through the fourth quarter, they were over 200 yards rushing before finishing the night with 241 yards. Dallas has now allowed 168.8 yards per game this season. If that continues the rest of the year, it would be the most rushing yards per game the Cowboys have allowed since their inaugural season in 1960.
The Cowboys tried to address a major need in acquiring cornerback Joey Porter Jr. by the Steelers, but he was a late pregame scratch due to illness, so that solution was missing. Concerns at the line of scrimmage. They’ve got five total sacks in five games, and they’re very real and don’t quit.
Four and a half games into the 2026 season, the Buccaneers have finally found an offensive spark.
They had struggled to that point under new coordinator Zac Robinson, scoring fewer points each week and putting up seven points in the first half against a bad Dallas defense.
Then, on their first play of the second half, running back Bucky Irving jumped around several Cowboys defenders at the line of scrimmage, then broke away for a 72-yard run. The next play, receiver Emeka Egbuka went 14 yards for a touchdown, and the Bucs had a rare lead.
Next ride? Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels found receiver Tez Johnson open for a 64-yard touchdown pass to set up an Irving touchdown and, on a first down, they led the Cowboys 21-10.
At halftime, the Bucs had two more plays than they had in the previous calendar year, and that was enough to propel them to their first much-needed win of the season.
Credit Robinson for coming up with a game plan that protected Daniels in his second NFL start. The offensive line faced penalties again, but Daniels had time to find open receivers downfield. They outscored the Cowboys 17-0 in the third and outscored them 198-59 in the period, thanks to fundamental football and explosive plays.