Tampa Bay walked into Dallas on Thursday night with an 0-4 record and an offense that could not get out of its own way. The Buccaneers left with a 24-16 win, their first of 2026, and a rookie quarterback nobody drafted at the center of it.
Jalon Daniels made his second career start in place of the injured Baker Mayfield. On the sport’s biggest weeknight stage, against one of its most-watched teams, he looked like he belonged.
The last undrafted passer to topple the Cowboys in prime time came in 1987. Back then it was Washington’s replacement squad during the players’ strike, the group that inspired the movie “The Replacements.” Daniels joined rare company, and he did it by waking up an offense that had been asleep all season.
A 73-yard opening drive that ate the clock
Great football games often turn on tempo, and Tampa Bay set it on the opening drive. Daniels led a 15-play, 73-yard march that chewed up 10 minutes and 58 seconds of clock. According to NFL Research, it was the Buccaneers’ longest drive by time since 2007.
The drive showed how Daniels moves an offense. He scrambled when the pocket broke down, fearless and quick. On that series he went 8-of-8 passing, then found Bucky Irving for a 5-yard touchdown on the 15th play.
A long opening drive does two things. It puts points on the board, and it keeps the other offense waiting on the sideline. Daniels finished 19-of-25 for 189 yards and the score, and he added 23 yards on the ground.
The number that matters most is context. Tampa Bay entered the week with the 28th-ranked total offense in the league. For one night, that unit looked nothing like its ranking.
Bucky Irving broke the game open after halftime
If Daniels was the story, Irving was the reason it had a happy ending. The third-year back ran for a career-high 165 yards and scored twice, the first multi-touchdown game of his career.
His signature play opened the second half. On the first snap from scrimmage, Irving broke loose for a 72-yard run, the second-longest rush in the NFL this season. Next Gen Stats clocked his top speed at 20.43 mph on the play.
Then came a smart sequencing call. On the very next snap, the Buccaneers handed the ball to Emeka Egbuka on a 14-yard end-around. An end-around sends a receiver behind the line to run wide, and Egbuka scored his first career rushing touchdown.
A run game breaks a defense exactly like this. Tampa Bay piled up 241 rushing yards and controlled the trenches.
When Dallas pushed back late, Irving sealed it. He gained 22 yards on second-and-12, letting Daniels kneel out the clock.
| Number | What it was |
|---|---|
| 24-16 | Final score, Tampa Bay over Dallas |
| 19-of-25, 189 yds, 1 TD | Jalon Daniels passing line |
| 165 | Bucky Irving rushing yards, a career high |
| 241 | Buccaneers team rushing yards |
| 419 | Buccaneers total yards, a season high |
| 10:58 | Length of Tampa Bay’s opening touchdown drive |
A leaky Dallas defense and a Bowles gamble
The Cowboys came home hoping for a get-right game against a struggling offense. Instead they watched their defense spring the same leaks that sank their 2025 season. Tampa Bay racked up a season-high 419 yards and played turnover-free football for the first time all year.
The secondary struggled badly. Cornerback DaRon Bland allowed 91 yards and dropped a potential interception that could have flipped the game. New addition Joey Porter Jr. might have helped, but an illness ruled him out before kickoff.
Tampa Bay nearly gave it all back on one call. Leading 24-10 with 8:36 to play, Bucs coach Todd Bowles rolled the dice.
He went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1 instead of kicking an easy field goal. Dallas stuffed Sean Tucker, and the gamble handed the Cowboys life.
Dak Prescott answered with a 10-play, 99-yard touchdown drive, and the building woke up. Bowles is known as an aggressive defensive mind, and that aggression bit him on offense. Linebacker Alex Anzalone saved him, picking off a tipped pass to seal the win.
Mayfield will get healthy and reclaim his job, as veteran starters do. Still, Daniels gave the Buccaneers something to build on, and he gave their season a pulse.
Dallas has a harder question to answer. A defense this porous does not hold up over a full season, no matter who lines up at quarterback. For one Thursday night, the undrafted kid and the back nobody could tackle made that very clear.
