Buccaneers edge Cowboys 24-16 in Arlington

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 at AT&T Stadium on Thursday, October 8, 2026, scoring 17 unanswered points in the third quarter. The win moved Tampa Bay to 1-4, and Dallas fell to 2-3 in front of a crowd of 92,351. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

Dallas scored first when Javonte Williams ran in from 1 yard out in the first quarter, and Brandon Aubrey's extra point made it 7-0. Tampa Bay tied the game early in the second quarter when Jalon Daniels threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Irving, with Chase McLaughlin adding the kick.

Aubrey's 41-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the half sent Dallas into the break ahead 10-7.

The Buccaneers took over after halftime. Emeka Egbuka scored on a 14-yard run to give Tampa Bay its first lead, Irving added a 1-yard touchdown run, and McLaughlin kicked a 41-yard field goal late in the quarter to make it 24-10.

Dallas answered in the fourth quarter when Dak Prescott found George Pickens for an 18-yard touchdown, but the two-point try failed and the score held at 24-16. Prescott completed 24 of 42 passes for 316 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Pickens caught nine passes for 130 yards, and Williams ran 12 times for 45 yards. For Tampa Bay, Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, and Tez Johnson had one catch for 64 yards.

Sources

ESPN