It took until the fifth game of the 2026 season, but Bucs head coach Todd Bowles finally found his fastball again as a defensive play-caller. Bowles’ defense helped lead the Bucs to a 24-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, the franchise’s first victory on a Thursday since 2021 and first since Bowles was appointed head coach in 2022.

Dating back to the second half of last season and continuing into the first four games of the current campaign, Bowles’ defense looked as if it had been figured out by the entire league. The book was out on Bowles, and the goal of opposing offenses was simple: get the ball out quick.

The Cowboys entered Thursday’s contest averaging a robust 30.5 points per game, ranking fifth in EPA per play. This was a lofty challenge for Bowles’ defense, but he and his team were up for it. If you subtract the first drive of the game for Dallas, a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive, as well as 10-play, 99-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, you’ll find a Cowboys offense that was often confused by what Bowles was dialing up. Sure, the box score shows the Bucs had zero sacks and only four quarterback hits of Dak Prescott, but the Cowboys quarterback was under duress all night.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Bucs had held the Cowboys offense to just one successful play when blitzing, per Shawn Syed of Sumer Sports. At that time, Prescott was just 2-of-12 for 31 yards when Bowles brought five or more. That’s impressive when you realize Prescott had completed 76% of his passes against the blitz through the first four games of the season, fourth best in the NFL. The Bucs ended up blitzing on 43.8% of Prescott’s dropbacks Thursday, holding Dallas to a -0.30 EPA per play. When Bowles didn’t blitz, the Cowboys had a +0.09 EPA per play, according to Tej Seth of the Stats & Scheme newsletter.

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Bowles utilized Tykee Smith to great effect as a blitzer and the Cowboys had difficulty picking up twists, leading to free runners for Tampa Bay. Those schemed up pressures were effective, and it was David Walker who was the beneficiary. Walker saw just 19 snaps with Rueben Bain Jr. back in the lineup, but they were a very productive 19 snaps. Walker had two tackles and a quarterback hit, just missing out on an opportunity to sack Prescott during the first half. You want to see Walker bring down Prescott in that moment, though his pressure forced Prescott into nearly throwing an interception.

Todd Bowles’ Aggressiveness Paid Off For Bucs

The improved pressure up front greatly helped the Bucs’ secondary make some plays. Jacob Parrish was a standout, recording a game-high nine tackles to go along with four pass breakups. We also saw Zyon McCollum make several plays on the football as he tallied a pair of PBUs on his own.

McCollum was key in holding wide receiver CeeDee Lamb – who left the game in the second half with a quad injury – to just two receptions for nine yards, one week after he had a stellar 17-catch, 189-yard performance in Houston. Lamb’s running mate, George Pickens, did get his, hauling in nine of Prescott’s passes for 130 yards. Some tackling woes led to Ryan Flournoy picking up 90 yards on three catches.

The turnovers came as well with outside linebacker Yaya Diaby coming down with one off a deflection with 10:51 remaining in the third quarter, Tampa Bay defending a 14-10 lead deep in its own territory. Linebacker Alex Anzalone then iced the game on Dallas’ final drive in the fourth quarter, making a diving interception after Prescott’s pass intended for Jake Ferguson bounced off the tight end’s hands and into the air.

All in all, this was a much better effort for Bowles’ defense, which looked to have turned up the sense of urgency in their play.

“The defense played well,” Bowles said after the game. “I didn’t like the drive at the end that gave them the touchdown for 99 yards but for the most part, they played hard. They didn’t play perfect, but they played hard and they stayed together and we got a win.”