What a disaster at AT&T Stadium. For a winless team to come into your stadium with an undrafted QB in his 2nd start, and you can’t stop him.
This should have been an opportunity for the Cowboys defensive scheme to get everything together. This was the worst offense you have played all season, and you couldn’t get a stop.
The Cowboys offense was playing against two backups in the Tampa secondary. But couldn’t overcome the blitz. This loss tainted what many will think of this Cowboys coaching staff.
Dallas wasn’t prepared properly. Schottenheimer mentioned “tiredness” this week, Cowboys played 3 games in 11 days. Which teams have to overcome all the time. And they couldn’t get the job done. Now the Cowboys get a mini-bye…better rest up.
Slow Start & Blown Chance
The Cowboys drove down the field and got a touchdown on the opening drive! It felt good and we waited on what the defense was going to do. The Cowboys wouldn’t get the ball back for the rest of the 1st quarter.
11-minute touchdown drive for Tampa Bay, which sucked some of the momentum out the air. Dallas then for the first time in almost a year punted three times in a game. But, it was in a row.
Dallas somehow made it to half with the lead, 10-7…then the disastrous 3rd quarter
The Cowboys could not get a score. But the defense made a 4th down stop at the goal line. And the offense turned it on for the first time since the opening drive, 99 yards for the touchdown.
Dallas forces a quick punt and has a chance to drive to tie it. Then the ball comes across the middle and bounces off Jake Ferguson.
Much like the INT in the 3rd quarter, the ball was on target and was babbled around before falling into the red jerseys.
While this game was not the CeeDee Lamb experience we saw last week, George Pickens had the better night, he had nine receptions against zone coverage in Week 5 against the Buccaneers, totaling 130 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys struggled to get rhythm running in between the tackles, because of the good interior defensive line. As expected. But the throws were having to come out quick and the accuracy wasn’t there on Thursday.
Dak Prescott completed 3 of 13 passes for 28 yards when pressured.
Prescott was blitzed on 42.9% of the dropbacks, with the Buccaneers generating nine pressures and a 50% pressure rate on those plays. Tykee Smith led Tampa Bay with a career-high five pressures on seven pass rushes, all coming in under 2.5 seconds.
Made It Easy For Daniels
I think I can leave this right here to visualize how easy this was for Daniels.
The Cowboys have allowed at least 375 total yards in each of their five games in 2026, the only team to allow that in each of their games this season. Bucky Irving recorded 165 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries
The receivers were wide open for Jalon Daniels all night and the pass rush could not finish a tackle in the backfield on the QB. Which brings me to my ultimate question.
What’s Worse…Secondary or Pass Rush?
It’s honestly a really difficult choice. The 3rd-and-21 where DaRon Bland is back-pedaling behind the first-down line. The defensive line got a sack, it took nine seconds and 3 Cowboys to fall off Daniels to get it.
I don’t think there’s a pass rush that gets closer to the QB but fails to sack the QB better than Dallas. Donovan Ezeiruaku touches and gets to the ankles of every QB and can’t wrap them up. Von Miller isn’t providing anything. Gary doesn’t finish. The rookie Malachi Lawrence can pass rush the best, if the best is getting pressures quick and using good pass rush moves, he just can’t aim where he’s going.
All the injuries in the secondary. Newest addition Joey Porter Jr. was out sick. Shavon Revel is dealing with his knee injury. DaRon Bland plays too soft coverage.
The personnel is not it. But the defensive coaching staff should have been able to draw something up against the 0-4 Buccaneers.
🚨 The Overreaction 🚨
Editor’s note: The following section contains no level-headed analysis. This is my chance to fire off a hot take I may regret by Tuesday.
This defense is the same disaster that it was last season. If the offense isn’t perfect, we can’t win a game. The Cowboys are going to Green Bay and then Philadelphia and may not win a single one of those games.
Dallas needs to find a pass rusher and they haven’t been good since they traded their good one away.
The Cowboys may need to make a change, maybe its safer to put Christian Parker in the booth, before making a larger change…
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