They say that desperate times call for desperate measures. In week 5 of the NFL schedule, when you’re 0-4 and on the road, you know your back is against the wall and it’s pretty much a must win situation. After all, this was a Buccaneers squad that was an 8.5-point underdog at kickoff and who had failed to cover the line in their last 13 consecutive games. In addition, the were starting an undrafted rookie free agent at quarterback who was making his second career start. They were minus two starters in the secondary and squared off with a prolific Dallas offense.
So of course, Tampa Bay took the opening punch in the mouth after Dallas took the opening kickoff and drove the length of the field for a touchdown. The Buccaneers proceeded to go on a 15-play, 73-yard drive that chewed up 10:58 to tie the score. Dallas took a 10-7 lead at the half but Tampa Bay scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-10 lead. At this point, it was like the original Rocky when Duke tells Apollo Creed: “He doesn’t know it’s a show. He thinks it’s a damn fight. Now finish the bum and let’s go home.” The problem was that Dallas didn’t have two judges ruling their way to earn a split decision as they fell 24-16, leaving Cowboys fans highly disgruntled.
QUARTERBACKS
Going into the game, it was pretty clear that most people gave Dallas the major advantage at the quarterback spot. After all, this was Jalon Daniels’ second career start and he wasn’t great in his debut last week against Green Bay. You wouldn’t have necessarily known that from the way he played in Thursday night’s game. He hit his first eight throws in the game and finished 19 of 25 for 189 yards and a score while adding 23 yards on the ground. More importantly, he played smart football in the contest. He took only one sack and didn’t turn the ball over. He showed poise in the pocket and picked up a couple first downs with his legs. Mobile quarterbacks hurt Dallas in weeks 1 (Jaxson Dart), 2 (Jayden Daniels) and 3 (Lamar Jackson) so it was no real surprise to see him do damage.
The final stat line for Dak Prescott looks good for the most part but the fact remains that it was inflated by drives in the fourth quarter with his team trailing. In the first three quarters, he was fighting and scrapping for everything he got. Tampa Bay effectively got pressure on him, blitzing Tykee Smith from the safety position and made Prescott uncomfortable. He wasn’t sacked but he was hit four times and picked twice. Prescott finished 24 of 42 for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. A closer look saw that 150 of his passing yards came in the final nine minutes trying to rally from a two-score deficit. Neither of the picks were really his fault. The first one was tipped and batted around like you expected Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh Jennings would bump before spiking one past a hapless foe. The second was well thrown and Jake Ferguson just didn’t haul it in.
RUNNING BACKS
Tampa Bay got the run game going and beat Dallas into the ground with it in the second half. All told, the Buccaneers racked up 241 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry while picking up two scores. Tampa Bay drilled Dallas right out of the gate in the second half, covering 86 yards on two plays in a minute. Bucky Irving ripped off a 72-yard run and then Emeka Egbuka took a jet sweep/end around 14 yards for a score. Suddenly, Tampa Bay was up 14-10 and they didn’t look back. Irving finished with 21 carries for 165 yards and a score. He also added two catches for 10 yards and a score, doing it all on 39 snaps. Kenny Gainwell (26 snaps, four carries, 19 yards, three catches, 10 yards) was in a fair amount as a pass blocker. Sean Tucker (seven snaps, five carries, seven yards) didn’t see much action. In fact, his being stopped on fourth and goal from the 1 gave the Cowboys life.
Dallas was unimpressive when it comes to the run game in this contest. Javonte Williams had 27 yards and a score on the opening drive for Dallas, including a 21-yard run. The problem for the Cowboys was that he was pretty much invisible after that in the game. He was on the field for 51 of Dallas’ 60 offense snaps (85%) but finished with 12 carries for 45 yards and a score while adding two receptions for 17 yards. Fullback Hunter Luepke (carry, five yards, seven snaps) and backup Tyler Goodson (three snaps, no touches) were barely involved in the contest.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Daniels targeted Egbuka often in the contest. He led the wide receivers in snap count (64 of 72 snaps), targets (nine) and receptions (six) for 38 yards in the game. In addition, as mentioned above, he scored on the 14-yard end around. Chris Godwin Jr. (63 snaps) caught all three of his targets for 37 yards in the contest. Ted Hurst (33 snaps) didn’t have a catch while Tez Johnson (28 snaps) was targeted once and took advantage of a blown coverage to turn it into a 64-yard gain. Kameron Johnson (two snaps) was, as expected, a non-factor. Apparently the connection between Daniels and Egbuka is strong. Maybe it’s because they’re a pair of young guys.
Going into the game, after seeing CeeDee Lamb catch 17 passes last week and knowing the Buccaneers were down two starters in the secondary, one would be forgiven for thinking he’d have a big outing. Instead, he was on the field for just 34 of the Cowboys’ 60 offensive snaps, had five targets and caught two balls for nine yards. For good measure, he picked up a quad injury that limited his action when the Cowboys attempted to rally. George Pickens (53 snaps, 13 targets, nine catches, 130 yards, TD) had a nice night in a losing effort. So did Ryan Flournoy (41 snaps, four targets, three catches, 90 yards) while KaVontae Turpin (24 snaps, four targets, two catches, 22 yards) and Jonathan Mingo (12 snaps, four targets, two catches, 20 yards) didn’t do much in the contest.
TIGHT ENDS
Cade Otton was on the field for more than 90% of the snaps for Tampa Bay (66 of 72) in the contest. He saw four targets and caught three for 25 yards in the game. Payne Durham (27 snaps, one target, one catch, five yards) was the second tight end when the Bucs went 12 personnel. Bauer Sharp (four snaps, no targets) and Ko Kieft (one snap, no targets) were relative non-entities. Durham getting 38% of the snaps was a big factor in Tampa Bay’s success in the ground game.
Jake Ferguson was on the field for 83% of the snaps for the Cowboys in the contest. He was targeted six times but caught just three balls for 19 yards. Even more critical was the fact that he didn’t haul in Prescott’s final pass, which would have given Dallas a first down around the Tampa Bay 15-yard line. Instead, it caromed into the air and was picked by Alex Anzalone. Brevyn Spann-Ford (20 snaps, two targets, no catches) was on the field more than Luke Schoonmaker (five snaps, one target, one catch, nine yards) when Dallas mixed up their personnel.
MISCELLANEOUS
As is all too common in the NFL, an inability to stop the run and turning the ball over usually leads to putting one in the loss column. That was the case in this contest. Dallas was outgained 419-366 in total offense, including 241-50 in rushing yards, in the game. They gave up 24 first downs while picking up 20, dominated 39:21 to 20:39 in time of possession and turned the ball over three times while failing to record a takeaway.
Both kickers were solid as Chase McLaughlin hit all three extra point attempts in addition to his lone field goal attempt from 41 yards. Meanwhile, Brandon Aubrey hit his only extra point attempt and converted a 41-yard field goal of his own in the contest. Dallas went for two on their second touchdown and came up empty. Turpin committed a major gaffe when he lost a fumble on a kick return in the third quarter, setting the Buccaneers up at the Cowboys’ 37-yard line. That drive ended in a field goal and saw Tampa Bay convert a 3rd and 21 with a 21-yard pass to Egbuka.
Next Thursday’s week 6 opener features an interconference tilt that should be interesting in the Mile High City. The Seattle Seahawks are on the road as they rekindle an old AFC West rivalry with the Denver Broncos.
