Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys did not look like a team officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the afternoon when they took the field for their second to last home game of the season on Sunday night. For the first time all year, this team could officially be called nothing but a spoiler candidate to any potential playoff teams that stood in their way. Although it was always heading this way, plenty of people around The Star still had a slight reason to object to the Cowboys being just spoilers up until here in Week 16 – the Cowboys miniscule playoff chances being that reason. The Cowboys will not be a playoff team for the first time in three seasons under Mike McCarthy, but they did give themselves a chance to finish with a winning record by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-24 on Sunday night.

The Buccaneers had much more to play for in this game, still in a fight with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South. The same will be said about the Cowboys final two opponents in the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, as they settle the NFC East winner with Washington earning a split in the head-to-head against Philly with a thrilling home win earlier on Sunday. The Cowboys were more than ready to answer the call and match the intensity of a playoff-caliber opponent with a winning record, continuing to play hard for McCarthy and themselves.

There may not be excuses for a majority of things that derailed this Cowboys season early on, but losing the highest-paid player in the NFL at the most important position in sports was certainly a tough blow. Without Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have been searching for who can help them build a new core around their franchise QB upon his return next season, and are finding both expected and unlikely candidates each week.

Against a Buccaneers defense that’s had its struggles at times this season, the second-most important player the Cowboys made a financial commitment to this offseason stepped up in WR CeeDee Lamb. Catching seven of his eight targets for 105 yards, Lamb became the first player in franchise history with 100 or more receiving yards in the first half of consecutive games.

This game eventually came down to which offense could establish their secondary receivers consistently and find ways to get them the ball to avoid force-feeding their stars. The Cowboys rode Lamb in the first half to give them a nine-point cushion at halftime, but they needed others after he was basically pulled for injury to his shoulder. The defense would make this stand with a Jourdan Lewis interception in the fourth quarter and DaRon Bland forced fumble on the Bucs final possession of the game.

The Sunday Night Football crew was impressed by the intensity and physicality of this game all night, which has rarely been a question for Mike Zimmer’s defense this season. Micah Parsons again helped set the tone up front, with the attention he draws allowing Carl Lawson, Osa Odighizuwa, and Chauncey Golston to all make plays as well. Dallas was faced with yet another lineup change at a key spot on the defense, playing without veteran LB Eric Kendricks. Marist Liufau and Nick Vigil stepped up on the second level while safety Donovan Wilson was ready to answer the call both in coverage when the Bucs wanted to push the ball downfield as well as in run support.

The Cowboys may not have been able to equally set the tone up front on offense by establishing Rico Dowdle in this game, but they did protect Cooper Rush who was sacked just once while throwing for a career high 8.3 yards per attempt. Rush and the offense were not reckless in how they pushed the ball downfield in this game or fed it to Lamb, seeing Brandin Cooks, Ryan Flournoy, and Jalen Tolbert all make big plays at key moments. Tolbert’s first quarter touchdown put the Bucs on upset alert early as the Cowboys jumped ahead 10-0, and it marked the first time in his career Tolbert has caught touchdowns in consecutive games.

Tampa Bay may have had 10 more total first downs in this game and a much better conversion rate on third down, but the Cowboys pass game was ready to go toe-to-toe with one that had been lighting up scoreboards in recent weeks. Of the Bucs’ 25 first downs, 14 came through the air. The Cowboys threw for 12 first downs, moving the ball just enough on offense in the second half to play keepaway and rely on their defense to seal victory.

The Cowboys beat a team with a winning record at AT&T Stadium for the first time since December 30th of last year, another close primetime game against the Detroit Lions. The early Christmas present for the home fans and many more watching at home can be appreciated as the Cowboys look ready to be a real test for both the Eagles and Commanders to end the season.

Before getting to any of that, for what we now know will be the third to last time this season, here are a few notes on the 26-24 win over Tampa Bay.

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• Playing from ahead, even with just a field goal, was important in this matchup against a Buccaneers team that just had their way with a very good Chargers defense the week prior. The Cowboys defense could have easily been kept on their heels all night if the Bucs were never in a position to chase points, but they were after the opening possession of the game. Dallas took the ball first and kicked a 58-yard field goal that looked like an extra point for Brandon Aubrey. On the Buccaneers first drive, they went four-and-out after a dropped pass on fourth down. This was the first opportunity for the Cowboys to establish an advantage in the receiving game, and they did so with a quick five-play scoring drive capped off by Tolbert’s touchdown.

Tolbert was able to win vertically up the seam to catch a tight throw from Rush, a great sign for the still-developing receiver that’s come on more and more at different times this season. A lot of Tolbert’s route running has been about freeing up other receivers underneath, where Rush is much more comfortable throwing the ball. When given a clean pocket though, Rush is not afraid to step into throws and push the ball downfield, doing so on this quick strike to Tolbert as well as to four other receivers that had a catch of at least 20+ yards in this game.

The Cowboys seeing CeeDee Lamb fight through injury, emerge as more of a leader for this offense in Prescott’s absence, and come up with the types of catches only he can make is a great sign for the future of the offense, but they must find other receivers that can complement their top choice. Just like paying Prescott may limit Dallas’ ability to field a top-notch offensive line in the future, it also means they won’t have an All-Pro cast of receivers beyond Lamb who also got paid this offseason. Dallas has played the long game with receivers like Tolbert and Jalen Brooks, as well as this year’s rookie Ryan Flournoy who caught three passes for 41 yards on Sunday night.

This position group continuing to develop and make plays is not only one of the best things the entire team can see over the final two games, but something beyond locker room presence and leadership for head coach Mike McCarthy to point to as reasons to warrant a contract extension at the end of the year.

• It didn’t take too long for the Buccaneers to create their own favorable swing on offense, as the Cowboys’ first three and out gave the Bucs their best starting field position of the game. Rookie sensation Bucky Irving capped off the drive with a touchdown after Mike Evans made his longest catch on the night for 26 yards earlier in the drive. The Cowboys held the ball for only three plays after Rush threw out of the reach of Jake Ferguson on third down. Despite starting with Hunter Luepke in the backfield and sending him out into the pattern, holding up with just five in pass protection, the Cowboys could not get anyone open on the play.

For all of the good the Cowboys have done getting work for their pass catchers even with Rush starting at QB, finding a rhythm for Ferguson has been a challenge.

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This was just the first example in this game of a poor sequence for the Cowboys offense leaving the door open for the Bucs to score points, but luckily for them Tampa Bay was not firing on all cylinders like they’re capable of with Baker Mayfield. Even with the advantage in being able to extend plays better and escape pressure, Mayfield could not get things going enough to avoid the Cowboys jumping ahead 20-7 in the second quarter. After Irving’s touchdown, the Cowboys answered with another field goal and Ezekiel Elliott touchdown following Lamb’s 52-yard catch on third down.

Elliott scoring a rushing touchdown for the Cowboys at home was something of another Christmas gift that came with some holiday charm, as it was his first such score since Christmas Eve of 2022 in a win against the Eagles. For just that brief moment, everything felt alright for the Cowboys, despite still being in a dogfight with another team favored to beat them.

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• The Buccaneers final points of the first half was a rare bad play from both Jourdan Lewis, and Mike Zimmer dialing up a zone look in the red zone. The Buccaneers put Jalen McMillan in motion on this play, alerting Mayfield pre-snap that the Cowboys were in zone. Instead of carrying the Bucs’ second best receiver on the crossing route, something Lewis has been able to do all season with younger, faster, more athletic receivers, Lewis passed him off and covered the running back in the flat. With Mayfield looking the other way the whole time and forced to roll to his right and throw off-platform, he found McMillan after eluding Parsons behind the line for a touchdown.

With the Cowboys punting on four of their five possessions in the second half not counting kneel downs, tightening up in coverage is something they would need to fix to hold onto the lead in the second half. Dallas did just that, with Lewis getting his payback with another endzone throw to McMillan. Locating the ball after it came down towards McMillan, Lewis ended up with a tumbling interception and the first takeaway of the night. Unfortunately, the Cowboys could manage just three uninspired plays off this interception. Throwing on first down, Rush’s incompletion led to two conservative run calls and a punt.

The Cowboys had at least denied the Bucs points on their first trip into their half of the field since the third quarter, but they came right back and drew within two on Ryan Miller’s touchdown with 2:36 left. Dallas again managed just three plays that gained eight yards in their effort to end the game on their terms. A first-down sweep to KaVontae Turpin was a questionable call given the lack of success Dallas was having testing the perimeter and blocking in space this game, and set them back with a negative play. Lamb’s first catch since a near-touchdown in the second quarter would bring up a manageable third down, but needing six yards, Rush connected with Ferguson for just four and brought up another punt.

The Bucs had plenty of time needing just a field goal, and perhaps a best-case scenario was playing out for Cowboys fans that wanted to see their team play hard but also creep their way up in the draft order by ultimately losing the game. DaRon Bland had other ideas to cap off one of the most gutty performances by this defense all season. On the very first play of the final possession for Tampa Bay, Bland stripped the ball away from Rachaad White and forced a fumble to end the game. White only ended up with the ball after an incredible effort from Mayfield to avoid the blitz, and actually would have had a nice gain on first down if not for the fumble.

The play became the latest example of how a mere bounce of the football can determine a game, something the Cowboys have learned all year, most recently at home when this break didn’t go their way also in primetime against the Bengals. With that loss now being the only thing preventing Dallas from taking a five-game win streak into Philadelphia next week, the Cowboys truly earned their seventh win by being the better team against a playoff opponent.

The Bland forced fumble was also a great example of Zimmer finding the opportune times to bring pressure, although this may have been one of the riskiest blitz calls of the season that worked in the Cowboys’ favor. Mayfield and the Bucs love to push the ball deep, and any bust in coverage could have quickly seen them get in field goal range to win the game. Dallas had been getting pressure up front but not finishing with sacks, so Zimmer found another way to force the ball out of Mayfield’s hands short and allow this defense to create a game-ending takeaway.

If it is true that the Cowboys would be open to retaining Zimmer as defensive coordinator only if they also extend McCarthy as head coach, both play callers provided reasons for slight optimism at different times throughout this win to show the Cowboys still have plenty of fight left in them.