ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys lost 24-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium, where Tampa Bay ran for 241 yards and did not turn the ball over in its first win of the season. Bucky Irving carried 21 times for a career-high 165 yards and scored twice, and undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels completed 19-of-25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in his second NFL start.
The loss dropped Dallas to 2-3, four days after a 34-30 win at the Houston Texans that followed a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro. Tampa Bay arrived 0-4 and without Baker Mayfield, who is expected to miss at least one more game with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand, The Associated Press reported. The teams last met on Dec. 22, 2024, a 26-24 Dallas win at AT&T Stadium. Thursday’s paid attendance was 92,351.
Dallas had three or four days to prepare for Tampa Bay, the same as the Buccaneers, and Dak Prescott said Tampa Bay beat the Cowboys in that preparation.
“To use the word embarrassing is tough. I feel like I’m discrediting the NFL if I use that, and particularly the Tampa Bay Bucs and a great Todd Bowles coach and defensive coach team,” Prescott said. “Guy’s been a winning coach for a long time, whether he’s been a head coach or a defensive coordinator, and that’s the plan. And what they did tonight is the reason for that. And so to say embarrassing, I think I’d be discrediting them.”
“But we’re definitely supposed to win this game. This is a game that was a game we’re supposed to have on paper or whichever way you want to look at it,” Prescott continued. “And I think Schotty said it best in the locker room. In this league, you’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to win. And when a winless team comes into your home stadium on a Thursday night primetime game, yeah, we’re supposed to win that. And so it sucks and right up there close to embarrassing. But I don’t know if I would say that.”
Dallas scored on its first possession, a nine-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Javonte Williams running in from 1 yard out with 10:51 left in the first quarter. George Pickens caught passes of 8 and 21 yards on the drive, and Williams had a 21-yard run.
Tampa Bay answered with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that took 10:58 off the clock. Daniels converted a third-and-4 with a scramble, and a defensive holding penalty on DaRon Bland wiped out a Shemar James sack on third-and-5. Two more Dallas penalties kept the drive moving, and Daniels hit Irving for a 5-yard touchdown on the first snap of the second quarter to tie the game at 7.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones put that possession at almost 12 minutes. Dallas started strong, he said, and the Buccaneers got right back in it.
“I thought that drive they had, when they came back and kept the ball, really showed me that they came to play. I’ve mentioned it several times, and I apologize, but to me, that really showed me that they came to play,” Jones said. “They had the big run, of course, and had the runs. But that was pretty impressive. And I think that, if I thought of one instance during the game that set a tone for what [we] were in for, it was that long drive in the first quarter.”
Prescott told teammates on the sideline during the drive that holding the ball was the best defense Tampa Bay could play against Dallas. The Cowboys punted on their next three possessions, gaining 29 yards on 13 plays, while Prescott went 3-of-10 for 18 yards.
“During the time and just being as positive and optimistic as I am, no, we’re going to go right back out there and we’re going to do our thing. But, yeah, in reality, that’s a long time,” Prescott explained. “And I understand why they’re doing it. I know we had some unfortunate penalties that extended their drives on a couple of third downs that we would have gotten the ball back had they not. But, hell, during that possession or that drive, I went and told the guys, that’s the best defense they can play against us right now. And it worked.”
Ryan Flournoy caught a 48-yard pass from Prescott to open the final drive of the half at the Dallas 13, and Brandon Aubrey made a 41-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to send Dallas into halftime ahead 10-7.
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take Over After Halftime
Irving broke a 72-yard run on the first play of the second half, and Emeka Egbuka scored on a 14-yard run on the next snap to put Tampa Bay ahead 14-10. On the following possession, Yaya Diaby intercepted a Prescott pass intended for Flournoy at the Tampa Bay 24. Daniels found Tez Johnson for 64 yards two plays later, and Irving scored from 1 yard out for a 21-10 lead with 7:31 left in the third quarter.
KaVontae Turpin fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Tampa Bay recovered at the Dallas 37. After an 11-yard sack and an incompletion, the Buccaneers converted a third-and-21 when Daniels hit Egbuka for exactly 21 yards, a first down confirmed by replay. Tampa Bay settled for a 41-yard field goal and a 24-10 lead with 2:58 left in the third quarter. Dallas turned the ball over on downs on its next possession after three straight incompletions from its own 43.
Bland was in cover three on the third-and-21 and made the tackle at the Dallas 27.
“I just slipped a little bit, keeping the top over, keeping the top on the routes,” Bland said. “But I just slipped. I got to come down and finish.”
Bland said he also slipped on the 64-yard catch by Johnson, on which safety Malik Hooker pushed Johnson out at the Dallas 15.
“Yeah, I slipped. I just, I just slipped. I gotta keep my feet on that,” Bland explained.
Irving’s long run came down to a couple of missed tackles, Bland said, and Dallas has to start faster coming out of halftime.
“Oh, yeah, there’s just a couple missed tackles on that play. So there’s really execution and we got to start out fast coming out the half,” Bland said. “So I can’t let them get that momentum coming out to half and just look like that.”
Tampa Bay held the ball for 39:21 to Dallas’ 20:39. The Buccaneers ran 39 times at 6.2 yards per carry, converted 7-of-13 third downs, and finished with 419 total yards. Egbuka caught 6 passes for 38 yards to go with his touchdown run, Chris Godwin caught 3 for 37, and Daniels ran 7 times for 23 yards. The Cowboys ran 13 times for 50 yards and went 4-of-10 on third down.
Jerry Jones Says Cowboys Defense Is ‘Right Where We Started’
Dallas had planned for the Buccaneers to run outside, if they ran at all, and to put the game on the rookie quarterback’s shoulders. Jones said Tampa Bay’s success between the tackles, where the Cowboys have a lot of strength, surprised him.
“Extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed. You really do need to get it done when it’s there to take,” Jones explained. “And they basically were very physical. I thought both their fronts. I was really surprised at how well they ran the ball, how they ran it between the tackles. That was surprising. And we thought if they were going to run it, they’d do it outside. And we thought we’d put it on the quarterback’s shoulders. Their staff, their quarterback, all their players got a great victory here tonight, and it was a tough loss for us.”
“We are still, in my mind, right where we started relative to our defense. And the thing that would concern me the most, without looking at one ounce of tape, is the way they were able to run the ball inside of us,” Jones said later in the availability. “And I did not think that could happen with us prepared for it.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer had already said he would watch the tape before calling the defense back at square one, and that he did not believe it was.
“Certainly Jerry’s going to have his opinions, and I respect his opinion. But I do think that today was a disappointing day, but there have been things. You got to get off the field on third down. We have to not turn the football over,” Schottenheimer said. “I mean, you can’t be minus three and win a game in the National Football League. That’s not going to work.”
“And like I said, when you go into these games and these situations, it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter. And we had a chance, and unfortunately, we just couldn’t get enough momentum going to punch the ball in,” Schottenheimer continued. “The turnovers killed us. And those are as a football team, not just one side.”
Left guard Tyler Smith played all 60 offensive snaps in his season debut after surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb.
“Like we came out there in the first drive and showed how dominant we were. And then from there, we just failed to execute. We failed to make the plays that we were supposed to make. We got loose with the ball, ended up giving the ball over,” Smith said. “And when you lose that turnover ratio, it’s very hard to win games, especially when a team like the Bucs, when they like to hold the ball a long time and really control that time of possession, you’re only going to get so many opportunities to have the ball.”
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark did not think fatigue from the three-game stretch was a factor. Daniels scrambled three times on the opening drive alone.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s something that we got to, I mean, it’s been biting us in the foot all year and something that we definitely got to get fixed,” Clark said. “Yeah, I mean, can’t keep coming up here every weekend saying the same thing. So, we got to get it fixed.”
Tampa Bay’s backs like to bounce runs outside and find space, cornerback Shavon Revel said.
“It’s not about wanting more. We should have executed the edge. We have that edge secured,” Revel said. “We know the running backs that they have right now. Love to bounce it out, try to find the gap, try to find space.”
Dallas has allowed 136 points through five games, a year after allowing a franchise-record 511 under former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Revel said the Cowboys prepared for Tampa Bay in the three days they had and were not supposed to lose.
“I mean, man, it was man, we’re really beating ourselves. We talk a lot about attention to detail, and I feel like we haven’t applied that to the game yet quite yet. We have our few plays here and there, but we’ve got to be consistent with it,” Revel explained. “So you can’t just blame the coaches and the calls, but we’ve still got to do our job and execute it.”
Jones declined to evaluate defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s work this season, but later said he still believes Parker can turn the defense around.
“I do. Yes, I do. We certainly, he’s sitting there taking it on the shoulders, which goes with the territory. But I feel that he’s competent,” Jones said. “And the things that he’s trying to do, I’m going to say it one more time: the thing that probably bothers me the most tonight is how they ran between the tackles, so to speak, and were able to have that running game up in there where we have a lot of strength. And so that’s something that we’ve got to really look at, and will.”
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said the message after a loss like this one is to watch the film and get better from it. He also said he has 100% faith, and that the players have to execute whatever Parker calls.
“Just watch the film, learn from our mistakes, hold each other accountable, and be urgent in our growth and our development,” Williams said.
Jones also said he would trade future draft capital for the right player. Dallas acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, and Porter was inactive Thursday after falling ill at the stadium.
“No, this isn’t folding the tents here. We are 2-3. We didn’t expect to be 2-3. We didn’t expect this Tampa team to come in here 0-4 either,” Jones said. “And they’ve got a lot of good players. And unquestionably, they were the better team tonight.”
Dak Prescott, Cowboys Come Up Short After 99-Yard Drive
Schottenheimer said Dallas did not block movement well, with the Buccaneers spiking and angling up front and bringing a nickel blitz inside on the first play of the second half.
“I think we didn’t handle the pressures very well. They were moving and this is nothing new. We’ve been getting blitzed a lot this year anyways, so that’s not different,” Schottenheimer explained. “I think the biggest thing was, again, too many free runners. Dak was taking too many hits. And overall, we just didn’t handle their pressures. I wish we could have got the running game going a little bit more. That, I think, could have helped us out. And we didn’t do that.”
Tampa Bay did not sack Prescott but was credited with 4 quarterback hits and 10 passes defensed. Every pressure the Buccaneers showed was one Prescott had seen on tape. They kept changing them, and Dallas did not execute its answers.
“I just don’t know if we were 100% on our communication, and I think that’s just where it starts, and that starts with me,” Prescott said. “When you’re not, it makes it tough, whether it be pointing a guy out for a receiver to run a side adjust off of that or for the slot to run their hot or the tight ends or whatever it may be or changing the protection, flipping the protection and getting it done.”
“Just didn’t do it enough and damn sure, excuse me, but didn’t do it to my standard of what I believe and know that I’m capable of doing,” Prescott added. “And, unfortunately, it bit us.”
Prescott finished 24-of-42 for 316 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, his first interceptions since the season opener. Pickens caught 9 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, and Flournoy added 3 catches for 90 yards. CeeDee Lamb caught 2 passes for 9 yards on 5 targets, four days after a career-high 17 catches for 189 yards at Houston. Turpin returned 5 kickoffs for 127 yards.
Tampa Bay’s safety help on Pickens came mostly on in-breaking routes, Pickens said. When Lamb went out, he tried to do the best he could to keep Dallas in the game.
“Actually, no, that’s the thing. It wasn’t no double team a lot. I feel like almost my in route safety would help them because it’s the in-breaking route,” Pickens said. “But besides that, no double team.”
Both Prescott interceptions came on deflected passes.
“I feel like definitely just certain plays went their way. Like a lot of tip balls, and then in their way, whether they’re catch or drop, it was some they had tip and they dropped it,” Pickens explained. “But those kind of chances and opportunities when the ball’s in the air and anybody can grab it, the game can go anybody’s way. So just definitely being pristine and trying to stay on the details.”
Tampa Bay drove to the Dallas 1 on a 12-play possession that took 8:14 off the clock, helped by a 7-yard pass interference penalty on Revel on third-and-13. Dallas stopped a fourth-and-goal run up the middle for no gain with 8:32 left. The defense held Tampa Bay to 24 points, and Prescott said the offense had been scoring 30 a game.
“I’m a positive guy. And at the end of the day, that was 24 points. I mean, we’ve been scoring 30 points a game. That’s on us. That’s on us. I think up to this point, they’ve given up 30 points maybe something like that a game or close to that I guess,” Prescott said. “And so they gave us an opportunity to win. They did. And that’s the thing about this game of playing complementary football and being there for the other side.”
From its own 1, Dallas went 99 yards in 10 plays and 3:06. Lamb left with a quad injury after the first play of the drive and returned four plays later. Prescott hit Turpin for 15 yards and Pickens for 13 and 20, Hunter Luepke converted a third-and-2 with a 5-yard run, and Pickens caught an 18-yard touchdown with 5:26 to go. Prescott’s two-point pass to Flournoy fell incomplete, leaving Dallas behind 24-16. A conversion would have made it a six-point game.
“It’s kind of our philosophy. When you’re down 14, you like to go for two, especially with our offense, because when you get it, you have a chance to go and win the game,” Schottenheimer said. “You make it a six-point game, and that was kind of our philosophy, like to play. And we just didn’t get it executed.”
There were no discussions about going for two before the drive, Prescott said. Flournoy veered off his route after Tampa Bay defenders ran into each other.
“Looking back at it, I wish I would have just kind of like thrown it to the corner and made Flo kind of just run out of the position he was in. But they had a bunch of guys that ran into each other,” Prescott said. “He veered off of his route and was open. Just got to find a way to make that throw. So I’m not going to question the decision when there was a chance to score.”
Jones said he understood the logic of the call and would not second-guess it.
“Well, I thought that’s one way of looking at it. I understand the logic, and I’m not trying to be cute. You second-guess any of them, it doesn’t work for us,” Jones said. “And I thought [we] were going to be right back down there and really try that decision to go for two.”
The defense forced a three-and-out, and Dallas took over at its own 24 with 3:42 left. Flournoy caught a 26-yard pass, and an offensive holding penalty backed the Cowboys up before Pickens and Jonathan Mingo moved them to the Tampa Bay 24. On second-and-1 with 1:22 left, Prescott’s pass for Jake Ferguson was deflected and intercepted by Alex Anzalone at the Tampa Bay 12. Ferguson finished with 3 catches for 19 yards on 6 targets. Schottenheimer said Tampa Bay played a lot of zone coverage, which put defenders behind both deflected passes.
“We know Ferg has to catch the ball. He knows that. And we really had two balls that were bounding through the air tonight, if you will, against the team that’s playing a lot of zone coverage,” Schottenheimer said. “And so there were guys back there to catch it. And no one’s going to be harder on Jake than himself.”
Prescott put the first interception on himself. Ferguson makes those plays, Prescott said, and the second came at a critical moment.
“And then to Jake, yeah, it’s just, I mean, unfortunate. He makes those plays and for him not to, and then that turned into a turnover in such a critical moment. I know he’s beating himself up,” Prescott said. “So, for me, it’s just support him, make sure he knows how much I believe in him and love him. I know how I feel, so I can only imagine how he feels.”
Irving’s 22-yard run on second-and-12 let Tampa Bay kneel out the final minute. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles told reporters afterward that Tampa Bay “lost the first quarter of the season,” AP reported. Daniels, who threw three interceptions in a 17-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers in his debut, said his first win coming on a Thursday night prime-time game was something he could not have imagined six months ago. Bowles said he expects Daniels to start against Pittsburgh on Oct. 18.
Cowboys Turn To 10-Day Break After ‘Embarrassing’ Remark
As Prescott walked toward the locker room after the game, a man described as an employee called the performance “embarrassing.” Prescott said the man was free to speak his mind, but should have said it to him directly.
“I know when he said it, I just happened to look at him. And at that point, he looked away, didn’t look. And then when I turned my head back, he said something else. And so that’s the part that, just as a man or as just a person, feel free to speak your mind,” Prescott said. “Just speak it. Don’t cower it away from the reaction that you’re going to get. And so, yeah, I mean, if you’re saying it’s embarrassing, say it’s embarrassing. If you’re saying it to me, then say it to me.”
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys would always be about shared accountability. He called the remark motivating.
“Motivating. Motivating. We believe in what we’re doing. We believe that we have good players, good coaches,” Schottenheimer said. “And we believe the solution is in this room. And we’re gonna get back to work.”
Schottenheimer will spend the 10-day break before the next game reviewing all five games, including his staff. Prescott plans to bring him ideas for the offense, which he said are not monumental changes.
“I’m going to look at everything. I’ll spend countless hours trying to figure it out and getting a chance to step back, look at these five games and see where we need to improve,” Schottenheimer said.
“There’s things that we do that I think we can increase the volume of, and is that the answer? We’ll see. But I’ll give my ideas,” Prescott said.
No NFC East team has run away with the division, Prescott said. The New York Giants led at 3-1 entering Sunday’s Week 5 games.
“We’d feel a lot worse if somebody in our division was 5-0 right now. And so having pretty much everything still out in front of us gives us, gives myself and all the guys in the locker room a lot of confidence,” Prescott said.
Porter came to the stadium not feeling well, Schottenheimer said, and got significantly worse after the trainers treated him. Jones said Porter had flu symptoms. Lamb was hit on the same quad he took a hit to the week before, and left tackle Tyler Guyton will have more tests on his back after leaving in the second half and returning. Safety Alijah Clark left in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return. Revel was hurt in the third quarter and returned. Prescott said there was nothing wrong with his throwing hand.
The Cowboys visit Green Bay on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Lambeau Field. Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC. Dallas then plays at the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, Oct. 26.
