It’s always GAME DAY at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux!
Come watch the Bucs all season long and check out the NEW Walk-On’s menu!
Wesley Chapel • Midtown Tampa • Lakeland
Download the Walk-On’s Rewards app to earn points, grab VIP perks, and unlock tasty freebies!

BUCCANEERS at COWBOYS

WHEN: Thursday, October 8, 2026 | WHERE: AT&T Stadium | KICKOFF: 8:15 p.m. ET | TV: Amazon Prime

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Al Michaels | ANALYST: Kirk Herbstreit | SIDELINE: Kaylee Hartung

RADIO: 98 ROCK 97.9 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Tony Castricone | ANALYST: Dave Moore | SIDELINE: Jay Recher

Game day is approaching, and it’s time for the Pewter Report staff to make its weekly game predictions and offer up our game preview of this week’s matchup. Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.

Scott Reynolds: Another Primetime Game, Another Bucs Blowout

Here we go again. Another week and another probable loss for the Bucs, unfortunately. Throw in the fact that this game is on prime time where Tampa Bay has really struggled and this one could get ugly in a hurry.

Remember the last time the Bucs played in prime time? Yeah, it wasn’t pretty. The Rams throttled the Bucs on Sunday Night Football and the game was over early after LA took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. I could see this game playing out that way.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay’s offense can’t score and it’s looking like Zac Robinson is proving to be an even worse hire than Josh Grizzard at offensive coordinator. That’s a damning indictment on Todd Bowles for going in the wrong direction twice since Liam Coen in 2024.

If Dallas gets up early I would expect them to cruise to a big win. I don’t fully believe in this Tampa Bay defense, which has looked better over the past two weeks by playing two docile opponents in Minnesota and Green Bay. I don’t believe in Todd Bowles’ pass rush, and giving Dak Prescott time to throw and find CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens downfield is a recipe for disaster. Look for Prescott to complete 72% – or more – of his passes versus Bowles’ defense.

REYNOLDS’ GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 38, Bucs 17
REYNOLDS’ SEASON RECORD: 2-2

Matt Matera: Bucs On The Wrong Side Of A Lopsided Primetime Game

By virtue of allowing less points over the last two games, there’s a general feeling that the Bucs defense has played better. But that would be wrong. This will be Tampa Bay’s toughest test yet from a defensive perspective, and if their defensive line can’t generate pressure, it’s going to be a long night. 

Despite cornerbacks Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum playing relatively well, if they don’t jam receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, they will be done for. The Cowboys offense can expose the Bucs’ defensive inefficiencies and miscues. And they will be exposed.

Bucs CBs Jacob Parrish, Zyon McCollum and S Ifeatu Melifonwu – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Tampa Bay can’t get into a shootout against Dallas with Jalon Daniels at quarterback. Hopefully they tap into Daniels’ athleticism and get him into some RPOs. Is this the week where the receivers get involved more? Probably not. Cade Otton ain’t winning this game for them. The Bucs get embarrassed in primetime once again.

MATERA’S GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 40, Bucs 10
MATERA’S SEASON RECORD: 2-2

Adam Slivon: Cowboys Make Easy Work Of Bucs In Primetime

With the Bucs sitting 0-4, they have looked a lot differently than how I have predicted them playing this season. Last week’s loss to the Packers confirmed to me that the optimism about this team has dried up like oil in a drilled-through Texas basin. I see that trend continuing on Thursday night in primetime. There are few bright spots with how Tampa Bay has played in 2026, and things will not get easier for either side of the ball against the Cowboys.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Todd Bowles’ seat is getting scorching hot, and facing Dallas’ collection of offensive weapons has the makings to be a nightmare scenario. Dak Prescott has had a highly efficient season, completing 70% of his passes with an 8-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. It helps Prescott’s cause that he has CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to throw to. The offense is balanced with Javonte Williams having a strong start on the ground and finding the end zone with ease.

All things considered, Jalon Daniels had a commendable first NFL start despite throwing two interceptions. Zac Robinson has failed to get Tampa Bay’s offense on track and seemed to have little answers during his press conference this week. Nothing has clicked for the unit, with the team’s point total decreasing every week through four games. There is enough talent to put points up, but it is hard to predict much based on the product seen on Sundays. The Bucs will have to wait even longer to get a win…

SLIVON’S GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 31, Bucs 17
SLIVON’S SEASON RECORD: 1-3

Bailey Adams: Why Should I Have Any Faith In This Bucs Team?

Tampa Bay hasn’t won on Thursday Night Football since 2021. It hasn’t won a road game since Oct. 26 of last year, with a streak of five straight losses away from home. This team hasn’t earned a road win against a team at .500 or better since Oct. 5 of last year — more than 365 days ago — making for a streak of four straight defeats in such games.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

What could the Bucs have possibly shown me in these first four weeks that would make me think they’ll break any of those streaks and get their first win of the season Thursday night? They’re coming off a short week and matching up with a Cowboys team that actually has a functioning offense, while their own offense has shown absolutely no signs of becoming anything other than a disjointed mess under Zac Robinson.

I can’t back Todd Bowles and this team anymore.

ADAMS’ GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 34, Bucs 16
ADAMS’ SEASON RECORD: 2-2

Josh Queipo: I Too Am Winless This Year…

Like the Bucs, I need to get a win. On paper, this should be an intriguing matchup. The Cowboys offense is currently on a historic pace while the Bucs defense is statistically one of the seven or eight best units in the NFL.

Meanwhile, Bucs offense has struggled to get anything going, but they will be playing a Cowboys defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in almost any measurement you can think of. The reality is somewhat different from that set up though.

Tampa Bay’s defense has benefited from sloppy play opposite of them nearly every week. While the defense has played better than the Bucs offense, is is hardly a dominant unit. And Dak Prescott, who is completing 70% of his passes this year with eight touchdowns and only one interception, has a history of carving up Todd Bowles’ defense dating back to the 2022 playoffs.

Tampa Bay may score a few extra points in this game, but they have little chance to keep up with the Cowboys’ high-powered offense. Cue up 0-5, but not for me.

QUEIPO’S GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 31, Bucs 24
QUEIPO’S SEASON RECORD: 0-4

Nick Geddes: Thursday Night Football Haunts The Bucs Again

The Bucs roll into Jerry World for a Thursday Night Football matchup, still looking for their first win of the 2026 season. TNF has been the occasion for some of Tampa Bay’s worst losses in recent memory; third-and-28 and fourth-and-14 ring a bell to anyone? The Bucs are 5-12 all-time when playing on Thursday and they are 0-4 under Todd Bowles.

The opponent is a 2-2 Dallas team that has obvious strengths and weakness. The Cowboys’ offense is at prolific as any in the league, currently sitting fifth in EPA per play. In case you were wondering, the Bucs’ offense ranks dead last. CeeDee Lamb is coming off a 17-catch, 189-yard performance, and we still haven’t seen a monster game from George Pickens this season, which worries me that this could be his week.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Defensively, the Cowboys are a disaster. They are 32nd in EPA per play, and they’ve allowed opposing quarterbacks to rush for 188 yards through four games. That feels like something the Bucs can exploit with the uber athletic Jalon Daniels making his second consecutive start in place of Baker Mayfield. That is, of course, if Zac Robinson is willing to incorporate some designed runs for him within the offense. Daniels ran for 55 yards on eight carries against Green Bay and none of those were designed runs.

But while Dallas’ defense looks to have no answers, neither does Tampa Bay’s offense under Robinson. He feels like a coach with no feel as to how to get the best out of his group, so my confidence remains low everything is suddenly going to click on a short week. And despite the numbers suggesting the Bucs’ defense has turned a corner of late, I’m not buying it one bit. I’ll take the Cowboys here and I believe this is the first time we see the Bucs get blown out in 2026.

GEDDES’ GAME PREDICTION: Cowboys 31, Bucs 13
GEDDES’ SEASON RECORD: 2-2