The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are winless no more. Behind a rookie quarterback making his first career start and a running back who refused to go down, Tampa Bay beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.
Dallas controlled the early script, leading 7-0 after the first quarter and 10-7 at halftime. Then the third quarter flipped the game on its head. Tampa Bay scored 17 unanswered points in the period — the decisive stretch of the night — and never trailed again, closing out the win with a scoreless defensive stand in the fourth.
Running back Bucky Irving was the engine, rushing for 165 yards including a 72-yard touchdown run that broke the game open. Rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, pressed into his first NFL start, managed the occasion with poise beyond his experience and earned his first career win. When Dallas threatened late, linebacker Alex Anzalone sealed the result with a fourth-quarter interception.
For the Cowboys, the loss was a study in missed opportunity. They outscored Tampa Bay in the fourth quarter but could not erase the third-quarter damage, and a defence that had kept the game close early spent the second half chasing Irving through the secondary.
Tampa Bay’s first victory of the season will not be mistaken for a masterpiece — but for a team that opened the year searching for belief, a primetime road win over Dallas is exactly the kind of result that changes a locker room.
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