The Tampa Bay Buccaneers racked up 419 yards of offense and held off the Dallas Cowboys, 24-16, at AT&T Stadium Thursday night after LB Alex Anzalone intercepted a tipped pass with just over a minuteleft to play. RB Bucky Irving ran 21 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, including a 72-yard jaunt just after halftime that set up a go-ahead touchdown and a clutch 21-yarder in the closing seconds that allowed the visitors to kneel out the clock.

"Hats off to our defense," said rookie QB Jalon Daniels, who made his second NFL start on Thursday night. "They played lights-out the whole entire game. Alex Anzalone, being able to get that game-winning interception, I appreciate those guys. Offensively we went out there and were able to execute our game plan."

The victory was the first for the Buccaneers after four straight one-possession losses, and it kept them in the thick of the NFC South race, which has Atlanta and Carolina tied at 2-2 entering Week Five.

"We played good complementary football in all three phases, starting out, and that kind of spurred everything in the first half," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "Jalon did an excellent job of taking care of the football and the defense played well."

The Buccaneers broke open a close game by scoring on their first three drives of the second half. Irving's winding 72-yard carry was part of a two-play possession to start the half that was followed by WR Emeka Egbuka's 14-yard score on an end-around. On the next Cowboys possession, OLB Yaya Diaby intercepted a tipped pass and Daniels responded with a 64-yard pass to WR Tez Johnson set up Irving's one-yard scoring run for a 21-10 Buccaneers lead. S Miles Killebrew then forced a fumble by Cowboys return man Kavontae Turpin, leading to Chase McLaughlin's 41-yard field goal.

Up 14, the Buccaneers had the ball at the Dallas one-yard line with 3:53 left, facing a fourth-and-goal. Rather than kick a field goal go up by three scores, Bowles elected to go for it on fourth down and RB Sean Tucker was stopped inches short of the goal line. The Cowboys then drove 99 yards, culminating in Dak Prescott's 18-yard scoring pass to George Pickens, but the ensuing two-point attempt was broken up by rookie DB Keionte Scott.

The Buccaneers were heavy underdogs entering the game and the Cowboys established early dominance by taking the opening possession 70 yards for a score, ending in RB Javonte Williams' one-yard touchdown run. However, Daniels and the Buccaneers fired back with a 15-play touchdown drive that ended in Irving's five-yard touchdown grab. The march ate up 10:58 off the clock, making it the second-longest scoring drive in franchise history by a single second after a 10:59 jaunt against New Orleans in 1994, and it cut down on the time that the league's second-highest scoring offense had the ball.

"That offense is very high-scoring offense, so the more you're able to keep those playmakers off the field, the more you are able to get closer to a win," said Daniels. "The fact that we were able to start the game that way that and gain confidence in ourself I think that's where it came from.

Daniels was outstanding in his second start in place of Baker Mayfield, who dislocated his right thumb in Week Three against Minnesota. The former Kansas star completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 110.2 passer rating. His favorite target was Egbuka, who caught six passes for 38 yards in addition to his rushing touchdown. His 64-yard completion to Tez Johnson in the third quarter led to an Irving touchdown run.

Irving led a dominant rushing attack against the Cowboys, as the Buccaneers rang up a season-high 241 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.

The Buccaneers' defense held Dallas to 14 points below their per-game average coming into the game and allowed just 50 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Prescott threw for 316 yards, including 130 to Pickens on nine completion, but CeeDee Lamb, the NFL's leading receiver coming into the game, was held to nine yards on two receptions.

"We started the second quarter [of the season] tonight," said Bowles. "We got one win and we've got to get three more to go to try to even this thing up. It's a long way to climb out, but at the same time we're upbeat and if we play this hard and play this effective we'll be okay."

The Bucs won the toss but deferred and thus the Cowboys had the game's first possession, starting at their own 30. LB Christian Rozeboom broke up a short pass to start the drive but Prescott got it over the middle to Williams for eight yards on second down. On third-and-two, Prescott found Pickens on the left sideline for a first down, then rushed the offense up to the line and handed off to Williams for four yards. The Cowboys then broke off their first big play, with Williams bouncing a carry out to the left and sprinting for 21 yards to the Bucs' 29. Prescott and Pickens hooked up again on the next play, with the receiver running a dig and catching the ball with CB Jacob Parrish hanging on him at the eight. An offside call moved it to the four, and two plays later a pass-interference flag made it first-and-goal at the one. Parrish knocked down a first-down pass to Pickens on play-action but Williams stepped into the end zone on the next down to give Dallas the early lead.

Tampa Bay's first drive started at its own 27. Daniels faked a handoff and rolled out left on first down, throwing to Egbuka for a gain of three, and an inside handoff to Godwin got another three. Daniels decided early on third down that he didn't have somewhere to go with the ball and took off running around the right end before lowering his shoulder to get the ball just past the sticks. On the next snap, he had time to throw and got off a dart to TE Cade Otton for 10 more almost to midfield. Irving's first carry got just two, and Daniels darted up the middle on second down to make it third-and-two. A rollout pass to Otton converted another third down and got the ball into Dallas territory, but three plays later the Bucs faced a third-and-five and a defensive holding call saved them from a sack of Daniels. A holding call pushed the Bucs back to the Dallas 40, but an illegal contact penalty on the home team made it first down again at the 35. A quick strike to Godwin gave him room to dart upfield to the 21, but the offense was soon in another third down, needing four. Daniels made a protection change just before the snap and that gave him time to hit Egbuka on a short out for a first down at the nine. After a one-yard loss by Irving brought the first quarter to an end, the Cowboys jumped offsides to put the ball at the five, and a swing pass to Irving got the ball to the end zone when he was able to extend it over the line.

Kavontae Turpin got the next kickoff out to the Dallas 32, and Williams started the drive with a five-yard run. Out of an empty backfield, Prescott threw a quick out to Turpin for a first down at the 44. Quick penetration on a run play two snaps later allowed LB Josiah Trotter stop Williams for a loss of two, and on third down Parrish broke up pass intended for Pickens, leading to a punt. Bryan Anger's punt took a 90-degree turn after hitting the ground and bounced out of bounds at the Bucs' three.

A rollout pass attempt was well-covered and thrown away and it was third-and-eight after RB Kenny Gainwell's two-yard run up the gut. An attempted screen to Egbuka didn't work and the Bucs had to punt, with the ball downed near midfield, though a holding call on Dallas backed it up to the Cowboys' 41.

Prescott threw a nine-yard pass to Williams to start the drive and the back got a handoff on the next play to get into Bucs territory with a first down. The Cowboys had some confusion before their next snap and burned a second timeout. Prescott tried to connect with Lamb on each of the next two plays but both passes were incomplete and quick pressure by OLB David Walker blew up the third-down play and led to another Anger punt, this one fair caught at the Bucs' 10 with nine minutes left in the half.

A personal-foul facemask on the Cowboys on Irving on the first play of the drive gave the Bucs an early boost. A five-yard outlet pass to Payne Durham gave the tight end his first reception of the season, and Irving powered for four yards on second down. Sean Tucker came in to power it over the line for five yards and a first down, and Irving's next carry was good for a gain of 11 to the Dallas 48. A Gainwell seven-yard gain put the Bucs into a third-and-one but a false start followed and Daniels' third-down scramble came up short. McLaughlin came on to successfully boot a 61-yard field goal, but the clock had expired and the Bucs switched to a punt after the penalty.

The Cowboys had the ball at their 13 with 3:40 left in the first half. Despite an illegal use of hands penalty on the first snap against Tampa, they didn't have the ball long, as Prescott's next three passes were incomplete, with Keionte Scott and Zyon McCollum both getting passes defensed. Dallas punted and Tez Johnson returned it 12 yards to the Buccaneers' 48 with three minutes left.

The Bucs' drive started with a holding call, though Irving got 11 back on a nice first-down run to the right. Daniels escaped a near-sack on second down but his scrambling throw to Irving was incomplete. On third-and-nine, Daniels took a hole shot down the left sideline to Egbuka and it was close, initially drawing a flag before the officials convened and picked it up. After the two-minute warning, the Bucs punted the ball back down to the Dallas 13.

Dallas came up with its first big play to start the next drive, with Prescott zipping it down the seam to WR Ryan Flournoy for 48 yards despite two Bucs defenders being on the scene. A seven-yard pass to Pickens and an offsides call made it first down at the Bucs' 27. Three plays later, on third-and-six with the clock running down towards 30 seconds, Walker crashed into the backfield again and pressured Prescott into an errant throw. The Cowboys brought on Brandon Aubrey for a 41-yrd field goal to take the lead.

The Bucs tried to force the action in the last 15 second and did get completions of 15 yards to Gainwell and 19 to Godwin, but the clock ran out on the half.

A penalty on the kickoff to start the second half forced the Bucs at their own 14. That didn't prove to be an issue for the Bucs as they needed just two plays to put the ball in the end zone. First, Irving weaved his way into the open for a 72-yard run down to the Dallas 14. On the next play, Daniels gave it to Egbuka on an end-around and he sprinted around the left corner for a touchdown.

The next Dallas drive started at its own 32. Keionte Scott broke through the line on first down to drop Williams for a loss of two and two plays later it was third-and-two. Prescott was able to find Pickens on an in-breaking route against a blitz for a gain of 27 to the Bucs' 34. After a strong tackle on Lamb on a second-down catch made it third-and-two, Prescott tried to hit Flournoy over the middle but Walker and S Tykee Smith disrupted it and Diaby hauled in the deflection for his first career interception.

A holding call set the Bucs back to start the next drive but two plays later WR Tez Johnson worked wide open down the right sideline and Daniels found him for a gain of 64 to the Dallas 15. Irving did the rest, with runs of nine five and one yards, the last for a score that put the Bucs up 21-10 midway through the third quarter.

The Bucs' momentum continued on the kickoff when Killebrew forced a fumble by Turpin and alsorecovered the ball at the Dallas 43. The Cowboys' defense responded by sacking Daniels for 11 yards on first down and breaking up his second-down swing pass intended for Gainwell. Daniels had time to throw on third down and used it to hit Egbuka for just enough for a first down at the Dallas 27. Otton made a nice reverse move after a short catch out to the right to gain room to get a first down at the Dallas 16. A false start cost the offense five yards and an attempted screen to Gainwell was completely destroyed for a loss of five. A run and a catch by Gainwell got a few yards and McLaughlin came on to kick a 41-yard field goal for a 14-point lead.

The next Dallas drive started at the team's 25 and immediately got a first down on an underneath pass to TE Jake Ferguson. Williams ran for seven but an incompletion made it third-and-three. Parrish was on the spot once again on third down, breaking up a pass intended for Pickens, and the Cowboys elected to go for it on fourth-and-three from their own 43. Prescott's pass to Ferguson was high on off his fingertips, leading to a turnover on downs.

Tucker came in for the next drive and got five yards on first down straight up the middle. He got close to a first down on his next carry but a holding call took it back and his next carry was only good for two yards as the third quarter came to an end. Egbuka drew a pass interference call on the next play, leading to a first down, but the Bucs then drew a false start to make it first-and-15 at the Dallas 43. Tucker got six back on a run up the middle and then Irving replaced him and broke two tackles to get five on a short pass. On third-and-four, Daniels was able to escape the pocket and scramble left for a first down at the Dallas 23. A six-yard Irving run up the middle took it to the 17, and he bounced his next run out right to get it to third-and-one. Out of the shotgun, Irving went up the middle again for four yards and a first-and-goal at the 10. An Irving run and Daniels scramble made it third down at the three, and a short pass to Egbuka got it to the one. The Bucs called a timeout and decided to go for it on fourth down, with Tucker getting the ball and coming up inches short.

The Cowboys got out of the shadow of their goal line with Prescott's 16-yard connection with Flournoy, which was immediately followed by strikes of 15 to Turpin and 13 to Pickens. Another 20-yard gain by Pickens took it to the Bucs' 31. Three plays later, on third-and-two, FB Hunter Luepke powered over the line for the first down. Two plays later, Prescott found Prescott in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. The Cowboys went for two and the pass was broken up by Scott to keep the Bucs' lead at 24-16 with 5:26 to play.

The resulting kickoff ended in a touchback and brought the ball out to the 35. A false start greeted the Bucs to start the drive and Irving only got one yard on his next run. Irving then ran for six to make it third-and-eight and Irving's third-down pass was broken up by CB DaRon Bland. The ensuing punt gave it back to Dallas at its own 24 with 3:42 to go.

The Bucs blitzed on first down and Prescott threw hot to Ferguson for six yards to start the drive. On the next snap, Prescott got it to Flournoy again and he weaved through the defense for 26 yards to the Bucs' 24. A holding call backed Dallas up 10 yards, followed by a seven-yard pass to Pickens. An impressive catch off the turf by Jonathan Mingo made it third-and-one as the two-minute warning arrived. A Willaims plunge moved the chains and Prescott went wide right on the next play to Pickens for nine. On the next snap, Prescott tried to find Ferguson over the middle but the ball went off his hands and was intercepted by Anzalone at the Bucs' 12.

Needing to run out the clock, the Bucs gave it to Irving, and after he lost two yards on his first carry he broke free on second down for 23, allowing the Bucs to kneel out the clock.