Five Biggest Takeaways From Buccaneers' Huge Upset Over Cowboys

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept their season alive Thursday night with an emphatic 24-16 road upset of the Dallas Cowboys.

Tampa turned in its best performance of the season to win a game it desperately needed to have. Both the offense and defense played with the sense of urgency needed after starting the season 0-4. 

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Jalon Daniels earned the first victory of his career in only his second NFL start. The undrafted rookie was poised throughout and didn’t turn the ball over after throwing a pair of interceptions last week. 

The offense showed it could score in multiple ways. Its first possession was a long, methodical 15-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that took 10:58 off the clock. Tampa then only needed two plays to go 86 yards for a TD to start the second half, giving the Bucs a 14-10 lead, which they would never relinquish. 

The defense picked off Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice and recovered a fumble on a kickoff return after taking a 21-10 lead. Dallas was held to only 50 yards rushing for the entire game, and superstar wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had only two catches for nine yards before being in and out of the game late due to a quad injury. 

It was a terrific showing by the Bucs, who entered the game as huge 9.5-point underdogs. 

Here are my five biggest takeaways from Tampa’s impressive victory:

Five Biggest Takeaways 

1. The offense should run through Bucky Irving: Tampa’s third-year running back had a career-high 165 rushing yards on 21 carries, while adding two catches for 10 yards. It was the first time in Irving’s career he had both a rushing and receiving TD. 

The dynamic back proved he can handle a heavy workload, and that good things happen when he gets the ball. 

Even when starting QB Baker Mayfield returns, Irving should be the centerpiece of the offense. 

2. Jalon Daniels is awesome: In only his second career start, Daniels plays with the poise of a seasoned veteran. 

He was smart with the ball and took what the defense gave him without taking any unnecessary risks, leading to a tidy 19-for-25, 189-yard night with one TD and no turnovers. 

He needs to do a better job of getting rid of the ball when nothing is there. Daniels almost took a huge sack to take the Bucs out of field goal range, but was bailed out by a defensive penalty. He also almost threw a devastating late pick-six that could have potentially tied the game, but Cowboys’ CB DaRon Bland couldn’t squeeze it. 

But Daniels earns a pass for his otherwise flawless performance. 

3. Emeka Egbuka is WR1:Egbuka stepped up in a huge way Thursday night. He only had 38 receiving yards on six catches, but added a 14-yard TD on a jet sweep to put the Bucs ahead 14-10. 

He may not have had big yardage, but he gave the Bucs exactly what they needed. Egbuka converted multiple third downs, including a third-and-21, and helped Daniels get into an early rhythm. 

4. The offensive line is a problem: Tampa’s offensive line was supposed to be the team’s biggest strength, but has been the team’s biggest disappointment through five games. 

Against Dallas, the line gave up only one sack and opened up big holes for the running game. Unfortunately, the line consistently shot the offense in the foot with penalties. Whether a holding call or a false start, the line was frequently causing the offense to move backwards. 

If the Bucs are to get back in the NFC South race, the offensive line can’t keep playing this poorly. 

5. Todd Bowles nearly cost his team the game: Even in an impressive victory, Bowles still struggled horribly in his head coaching duties.

Late in the second quarter, Bowles made the decision to have kicker Chase McLaughin attempt a 61-yard field goal one week after saying a potential game-tying 65-yarder was “a good 10-15 yards” too long to attempt. 

Whatever. To make matters worse, Bowles took too long to make the decision to try the field goal. McLaughlin drilled it, but it was wiped out by a delay-of-game penalty, forcing the Bucs to punt.

Then, with the Bucs up 24-10 midway through the fourth quarter, Bowles made the terrible decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the one. 

A field goal would have put the Bucs up by three scores and essentially iced the game. Instead, Bowles made the costly gamble to go for a TD, which still would’ve put the Bucs up by three scores. 

Sean Tucker was stuffed short of the end zone, and it only took a little over three minutes for Dallas to go 99 yards and pull within one score. 

Just absolutely horrible game management from Bowles, and it almost cost the Bucs the game. 

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