The previously 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers came out victorious, 24-16, in a stunning victory against the 2-2 Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on the prime-time stage with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels at the helm. The Buccaneers came out firing on all cylinders on Thursday Night Football, accumulating 419 total yards of offense, including 241 on the ground, with running back Bucky Irving as the catalyst. He posted a career-best 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving), including a 72-yarder that set up a score coming out of halftime. The game marked the first win of the 2026 slate for Tampa Bay after four-consecutive losses decided by a single score, putting the Bucs back in the NFC South hunt.
"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."
Offensive Overview
In his second career start, Jalon Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown, earning a 110.2 passer rating. He became just the third undrafted rookie quarterback since 1950 to win in primetime in either his first or second career start (joining Devlin Hodges and Tom Greene), and just the fifth undrafted rookie quarterback in the common draft era to do so in any start. He became just the ninth undrafted rookie quarterback to lead his team to 400-plus total yards of offense in a game and the first since Tommy DeVito. On the offense's opening possession, Daniels led the Buccaneers on a 15-play, 73-yard drive that took 10:58 off the clock, going a perfect 8-for-8 passing on the drive.
Irving's 175 yards from scrimmage marked the third-most of his career. Thursday's game marked Irving's fourth career 100-yard rushing performance and also helped him surpass the 2,000-yard rushing milestone for his career. Irving's 165 rushing yards were the most by a player against Dallas in a Cowboys home game since 2012. Emeka Egbuka contributed six receptions for 38 yards, in addition to tallying the first rushing touchdown of his NFL career on a 14-yard run on a jet sweep. Tez Johnson hauled in a career-long 64-yard reception, which also marked a career-long completion for Daniels. The Buccaneers recorded 24 first downs – the team's most in any game this season and its most since 12/11/25 against Atlanta.
The Buccaneers scored on their first three drives of the second half. Irving's 72-yard carry was part of a two-play drive to begin the half and was followed by Egbuka's 14-yard score. On the next Cowboys possession, Yaya Diaby intercepted a tipped and bobbled pass and Daniels capitalized with a 64-yard bomb to Johnson that set up Irving's one-yard scoring run, which gave the Bucs a 21-10 advantage. Safety Miles Killebrew then forced a fumble by Cowboys return man KaVontae Turpin, leading to Chase McLaughlin's 41-yard field goal.
Defensive Outlook
Tampa Bay's defense won the turnover battle, 3-0. It marked the Buccaneers' first three-takeaway game since Week 18 of the 2025 season. Alex Anzalone sealed the victory with his first interception for Tampa Bay, and the fifth interception of his NFL career.
Diaby recorded his first career interception on a Dak Prescott pass that was deflected by both David Walker and Tykee Smith. Jacob Parrish racked up a career-best four passes defensed, marking his third career game with multiple passes defensed. Parrish led the team in tackles, with nine, matching his career high (10/5/25 at Seattle). Zyon McCollum recorded two passes defensed, marking his 10th career game with multiple passes defensed. McCollum became integral in limiting the effectiveness of Cowboys' No.1 receiver CeeDee Lamb. He was frequently matched up on Lamb and blanketed the wideout in coverage.
Keionte Scott amassed a career high seven tackles, including one for loss, adding one pass defensed. On special teams, Killebrew forced a fumble on a kickoff return that was recovered by Kevin Knowles. It marked the second career forced fumble for Killebrew and the second career fumble recovery for Knowles.
