Week 5: Bucs Win If / Cowboys Win If

ehinote · 2026-10-08T00:28:22Z

The 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are being asked to travel to Dallas for a Thursday Night Football game. None of it adds up to anything good. Not a single part of this equation works in the Buccaneers' favor.This team has been historically terrible on Thursday nights. Their record in Dallas is equally grim. They are starting an undrafted rookie quarterback. Their offensive line cannot run block or pass block consistently. Their pass rush has been invisible for four consecutive weeks. And the Dallas Cowboys' offense is precisely the type of high-powered, skill-heavy attack that feasts on Todd Bowles' defense in prime time.If there was ever a game that had disaster written all over it before the opening kickoff, this is it. But here is how both teams set themselves up for victory anyway. BUCS WIN IF...Bucs on Offense: Run the Football and Shorten the GameBelieve it or not, this is another genuine opportunity for the Buccaneers' offense to find some rhythm and build some much-needed momentum. The Dallas Cowboys' defense is not good. Ranked 30th in total defense and struggling to stop anyone consistently, this is as inviting a matchup as a struggling offense could hope for in a must-win situation.The key word is running the football. If the Buccaneers have any realistic chance of winning Thursday night, they need to establish the ground game early, shorten the game, control the clock, and keep Dak Prescott and that offense on the sideline as much as possible. A shootout against Dallas on a short week on the road in prime time is not a scenario that ends well for this team. Ball control and physicality in the running game are the only paths to a competitive outcome.As I said last week, Jalon Daniels is not ready to be a full-time NFL starter. That reality has not changed between Sunday and Thursday. But Daniels can manage a game effectively if the running game gives him something to work with. Get Bucky Irving going. Get Kenny Gainwell involved. Maybe even give Sean Tucker some carries if the game script allows for it. Manage the game. Protect the ball. And if a splash play presents itself downfield, take it. This offense is starving for a momentum play and Thursday night would be a beautiful time for one to arrive.Bucs on Defense: Hope Dak's Impatience Works Against HimThe Buccaneers' defense has quietly been flying under the radar over the past three weeks. Playing the Bengals, Browns, Vikings, and Packers, three of whom rank in the bottom ten offenses in the league, has masked some very real structural problems. Opponents have not needed to push the ball downfield because the Buccaneers' offense has given them comfortable leads to protect. The defense has not been truly stress-tested by a high-functioning offense yet in 2026.Thursday night that changes. Dak Prescott will push the ball. CeeDee Lamb will demand attention on every snap. The Cowboys will not be content to play conservatively or manage the clock. They will attack this secondary vertically and with pace from the very first drive.The realistic hope for the Buccaneers is not that they dominate Dallas offensively. It is that Bowles' bend-but-don't-break defensive philosophy frustrates Dak Prescott into forcing throws that turn into interceptions. Prescott has shown throughout his career that impatience can get the better of him when defenses take away his first read consistently. If the Buccaneers can keep things in front of them, limit the big plays, and let the game stay close long enough for Dak to press, a turnover or two is not out of the question.It is not much of a game plan. But it may be the only realistic one available.COWBOYS WIN IF...Cowboys on Offense: Let the Game Come to ThemDak Prescott has looked sharp for the most part through four weeks of the 2026 season. He has CeeDee Lamb on one side and George Pickens on the other. The combination is going to be a real problem for corners who have been getting away with playing soft coverage. The formula for Dallas on Thursday night is simple. Don't force it. Let the game come naturally. The points will follow if Prescott is patient. He does not need to take unnecessary risks against a defense that will inevitably give him opportunities if he waits for them. Take the underneath completions. Move the chains. Let Lamb do what Lamb does. Cowboys on Defense: Make the Rookie Pay EarlyFor what has been a 30th ranked defense through four weeks, Thursday night's game represents a genuine opportunity to climb the rankings. The Cowboys will be lining up across from an undrafted rookie quarterback making just his second career start, behind an offensive line that has been unable to consistently run block or pass block against anyone this season.Watch for the Cowboys' pass rush to apply early pressure on Daniels and force him into uncomfortable decisions before he settles into a rhythm. And keep an eye on rookie safety Caleb Downs to get an early interception off a Daniels forced throw under pressure, along wit...

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Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 11:09 pm

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Week 5: Bucs Win If / Cowboys Win If

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