Cowboys had a chance for the comeback, but couldn't finish in 'disappointing' loss to previously winless Buccaneers
Cowboys had a chance for the comeback, but couldn't finish in 'disappointing' loss to previously winless Buccaneers
Frank SchwabThu, October 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM UTC
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The Dallas Cowboys thought they fixed their defense in the offseason. They fired Matt Eberflus and hired Christian Parker to be their new defensive coordinator. They acquired many new starters, including safety Caleb Downs in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The Cowboys' defense isn't better. It might be worse.
The offense is supposed to carry the team. It mostly sputtered on Thursday night against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dallas was given a gift on a weird decision by Bucs head coach Todd Bowles to bypass a field goal in the fourth quarter and go for it when his team led by 14 points. The Bucs turned the ball over on downs, leading to the Cowboys cutting their deficit to eight points and they got the ball back and marched into Buccaneers territory in the final two minutes. But a Dak Prescott pass went off Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson's facemask and was picked off by linebacker Alex Anzalone to finish the hope of a Dallas comeback.
Overall, the Cowboys played an embarrassing game. The Buccaneers had undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second start, they were 0-4 and they beat the Cowboys 24-16.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on the defeat, via ESPN’s Todd Archer:
“Boy, I've been so disappointed before with losses, but this was disappointing and I'm disappointed because I see potential growth here and we need to have good experiences on an individual basis as well as a team. And this was not a good experience out here.”
Daniels played well. He completed 19-of-25 passes for 189 yards. He also had the benefit of going against Dallas' defense that didn't have newly acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who fell ill hours before kickoff.
"He was very, very sick," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys are 2-3, which in the NFC East isn't even that bad on the surface. But Dallas' defense remains a glaring problem. It's not like they can fire Parker after five games. And when the Cowboys' offense plays poorly, the result is an unwatchable mess like it was for most of Thursday.
Jones told reporters postgame that it was "premature" to move off of Parker as the defensive play-caller and that he remained confident in him.
During the offseason, the Cowboys spoke often about winning a Super Bowl. Jones led that charge. It turns out, they can't even beat a winless Buccaneers team at home.
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Buccaneers take control early
The Cowboys had a great start. They took the first possession right downfield and scored on a Javonte Williams 1-yard touchdown run.
That was it for any Dallas highlights for a long, long time.
The Buccaneers responded to Dallas' first possession with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that chewed up 10:58 of clock. Multiple Cowboys defensive penalties kept the drive alive. Tampa Bay tied it on a touchdown pass from Daniels to Bucky Irving. It said something about the Cowboys' defense that an undrafted rookie quarterback could lead a drive like that.
And it's not like the Cowboys' offense answered right back. It went strangely cold, punting three straight times. Prescott was a disappointing 9 of 20 for 114 yards in the first half as the Buccaneers' blitz threw him off. The Cowboys got a field goal to end the first half to take a 10-7 lead, but their defense let down again to start the second half.
On the first play of the second half, multiple Cowboys whiffed on tackling Irving, who broke free for a 72-yard run. Emeka Egbuka took a jet sweep 14 yards on the next play to give the Buccaneers a 14-10 lead.
At that point it was obvious Dallas wouldn't have an easy night. The team that was 0-4 on the road with an undrafted rookie quarterback looked better.
Bucs extend lead but make questionable decision
The Cowboy mishaps kept building up in the second half. Prescott threw an interception after the Egbuka touchdown and DaRon Bland fell down on the next series to allow a 64-yard catch to Tez Johnson. Irving scored again to extend Tampa Bay's lead to 21-10. Then Dallas promptly fumbled away the next kickoff. And played a soft zone to allow a 21-yard completion on third-and-21. It was a nightmare for Dallas.
The Bucs tried to give the Cowboys a chance. Bowles made the baffling choice to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter when a field goal would have made it a 17-point lead. The Bucs were stopped short, giving Dallas life. George Pickens scored a touchdown with 5:26 left at the end of a 99-yard drive, and the 2-point conversion was unsuccessful — teams have started the strategy of going for 2 after cutting a 14-point lead with a touchdown, assuming if the first one doesn't work they can have a second shot at it later — but the Cowboys were back in the game, thanks to Bowles.
The Cowboys got a stop after that, though Bland dropped what probably would have been a pick 6 on third down.
Still, Dallas had the ball back trailing by eight with 3:42 left. The Cowboys drove into Buccaneers territory. Then came the final interception that sealed Tampa's win.
Irving had 165 of Tampa's 241 rushing yards, a single-game career high for the running back.
The Cowboys are 2-3 and have time to rebound. But their flaws were obvious on Thursday night.
Source: “AOL Sports”
