In a season full of heartbreaking losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers week sixteen loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football may end up being the worst one, as the Bucs fell short 24-26. Cowboys QB Cooper Rush and WR CeeDee Lamb were having their way with the Bucs defense, paired with the Cowboys’ secondary putting together an amazing game, Dallas was too much to handle at the end of the day.
It wasn’t a lack of offense for Tampa Bay, as they tallied 410 total yards, 303 of those coming in the air from Baker Mayfield. Since the Bucs were playing from behind in the fourth, Mayfield ended up with 31 completions on 43 attempts, with two touchdowns and a fourth quarter interception.
An efficient game on the ground as well, as Bucky Irving shined with 68-yard and a score, plus Baker Mayfield added 42 rushing yards to the stat sheet. Rachaad White only put up ten rushing yards total, but also caught seven passes from the backfield for 50 yards.
Mayfield and the offense were moving the ball and played confident throughout most of the game. Failed third and fourth down conversions for Tampa Bay’s offense proved to be huge, with five drives ending in either a punt or turnover on downs.
The Bucs defense came out flat in prime time, but found their way when they needed to in the second half. Tampa Bay was trailing by two scores to begin the fourth quarter, but the defense kept them in play, forcing four consecutive punts by the Dallas offense.
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey also had an outstanding night, going 4/4 on his kicks, including a 49-yarder and three perfect 50-yard kicks from deep. It was a beautiful outing for the Dallas kicker that helped elevate his team to victory and he’s continued to have an amazing season.
At the end of the day, although Tampa Bay was able to stop Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle from having another big game, Cooper Rush threw for 292 yards and a touchdown. He hasn’t been able to consistently throw down the field successfully, but against this injured Bucs secondary, he did exactly that.
Tampa Bay trailed throughout the entire second half, but buckled down once the fourth quarter began. Down 26-17, Tampa Bay willed their way on consecutive possessions to give themselves a chance at the end of the game.
Just as the Bucs offense seemed as they were gaining momentum, Baker Mayfield launched a 50-yard bomb to Jalen McMillan, which at first seemed to be a score for Tampa Bay, but ended up being an interception that was successfully ripped away by Jourdan Lewis.
It was a play that not only sucked away momentum from Tampa Bay, but due to the clock, lessened their chances of winning worse than what they already were. But after a quick stop by the Bucs defense, Mayfield drove the offense right down the field and threw a touchdown to Ryan Miller, keeping Tampa Bay in the game and bringing the deficit to within two.
Once again, the Bucs defense made the stop the team needed them to and set their offense up for a two-minute drill to get into field goal range. But on the first play of the drive, after Rachaad White’s seventh reception of the game, he was stripped of the football and turned it over to Cowboys DB Amani Oruwariye.
That was the game sealing play that put the Bucs to 8-7 and back into second place in the NFC South. With Atlanta’s win over the Giants, both teams sit at an 8-7 record, but since Tampa Bay lost in both of the meetings between the two team’s, they’ll lose any tiebreaking situation with the Falcons.
So with the Panthers and Saints coming to Raymond James Stadium to end the year, it will be a matter of taking care of business and seeing where they end up. Any divisional opponent can give you issues, and Tampa Bay has already gone to overtime with Carolina.
We will see if Falcons rookie QB Micheal Penix Jr. can live up to the exceeded expectations to end the year, but this week’s loss in Dallas for Tampa Bay will sting throughout the offseason if they end up with the same record as the Atlanta Falcons.
In a season full of heartbreaking losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers week sixteen loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football may end up being the worst one, as the Bucs fell short 24-26. Cowboys QB Cooper Rush and WR CeeDee Lamb were having their way with the Bucs defense, paired with the Cowboys’ secondary putting together an amazing game, Dallas was too much to handle at the end of the day.
It wasn’t a lack of offense for Tampa Bay, as they tallied 410 total yards, 303 of those coming in the air from Baker Mayfield. Since the Bucs were playing from behind in the fourth, Mayfield ended up with 31 completions on 43 attempts, with two touchdowns and a fourth quarter interception.
An efficient game on the ground as well, as Bucky Irving shined with 68-yard and a score, plus Baker Mayfield added 42 rushing yards to the stat sheet. Rachaad White only put up ten rushing yards total, but also caught seven passes from the backfield for 50 yards.
Mayfield and the offense were moving the ball and played confident throughout most of the game. Failed third and fourth down conversions for Tampa Bay’s offense proved to be huge, with five drives ending in either a punt or turnover on downs.
The Bucs defense came out flat in prime time, but found their way when they needed to in the second half. Tampa Bay was trailing by two scores to begin the fourth quarter, but the defense kept them in play, forcing four consecutive punts by the Dallas offense.
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey also had an outstanding night, going 4/4 on his kicks, including a 49-yarder and three perfect 50-yard kicks from deep. It was a beautiful outing for the Dallas kicker that helped elevate his team to victory and he’s continued to have an amazing season.
At the end of the day, although Tampa Bay was able to stop Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle from having another big game, Cooper Rush threw for 292 yards and a touchdown. He hasn’t been able to consistently throw down the field successfully, but against this injured Bucs secondary, he did exactly that.
Tampa Bay trailed throughout the entire second half, but buckled down once the fourth quarter began. Down 26-17, Tampa Bay willed their way on consecutive possessions to give themselves a chance at the end of the game.
Just as the Bucs offense seemed as they were gaining momentum, Baker Mayfield launched a 50-yard bomb to Jalen McMillan, which at first seemed to be a score for Tampa Bay, but ended up being an interception that was successfully ripped away by Jourdan Lewis.
It was a play that not only sucked away momentum from Tampa Bay, but due to the clock, lessened their chances of winning worse than what they already were. But after a quick stop by the Bucs defense, Mayfield drove the offense right down the field and threw a touchdown to Ryan Miller, keeping Tampa Bay in the game and bringing the deficit to within two.
Once again, the Bucs defense made the stop the team needed them to and set their offense up for a two-minute drill to get into field goal range. But on the first play of the drive, after Rachaad White’s seventh reception of the game, he was stripped of the football and turned it over to Cowboys DB Amani Oruwariye.
That was the game sealing play that put the Bucs to 8-7 and back into second place in the NFC South. With Atlanta’s win over the Giants, both teams sit at an 8-7 record, but since Tampa Bay lost in both of the meetings between the two team’s, they’ll lose any tiebreaking situation with the Falcons.
So with the Panthers and Saints coming to Raymond James Stadium to end the year, it will be a matter of taking care of business and seeing where they end up. Any divisional opponent can give you issues, and Tampa Bay has already gone to overtime with Carolina.
We will see if Falcons rookie QB Micheal Penix Jr. can live up to the exceeded expectations to end the year, but this week’s loss in Dallas for Tampa Bay will sting throughout the offseason if they end up with the same record as the Atlanta Falcons.
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