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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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seekpar

(@seekpar)

Posts: 1902

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is it just me or does charissa look like a halloween skeleton

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:48 pm

Alldaway 2.0 reacted

Trask Force

(@catherder)

Posts: 2946

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Daniels is proving that he belongs in this league.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:48 pm

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FireLichtBowles2026

(@firelichtbowles2026)

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Posted by: @seekpar

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is it just me or does charissa look like a halloween skeleton

She's a decade away from looking like Susan Dell

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:49 pm

Alldaway 2.0 reacted

GottaCoachItBetter

(@donkey_hunter)

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Posted by: @firelichtbowles2026

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Posted by: @donkey_hunter

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Need to mix up the run game.

Get Gainwell and Tucker in the mix.

Are they gonna magically phase through the ass of Breadson?

You're right.

Keep running Bucky until you start bitching that they're over using him.

When do we get to that point in the game again?

I don't remember.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:49 pm

FireLichtBowles2026

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Posted by: @donkey_hunter

↑

Posted by: @firelichtbowles2026

↑

Posted by: @donkey_hunter

↑

Need to mix up the run game.

Get Gainwell and Tucker in the mix.

Are they gonna magically phase through the ass of Breadson?

You're right.

Keep running Bucky until you start bitching that they're over using him.

When do we get to that point in the game again?

I don't remember.

Lol. I want them in dude I'm just saying Bijan couldn't do shit with this line's push. Gotta find the balance of getting someone rhythm and not running an undersized rb into the ground.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:53 pm

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OlafSnowfake

(@bucsbits)

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Rush down Bain dropped

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:53 pm

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FireLichtBowles2026

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Remind me... Why did we get rid on Anger?

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:54 pm

Alldaway 2.0

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Parrish I think has 2 PDs so far. Low key is putting in the work.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:54 pm

Trask Force

(@catherder)

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Bucs need to take advantage of the Cowboys defense which could be winded after an 11 minute drive and 3 and out.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:55 pm

FireLichtBowles2026

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Posted by: @bucsbits

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Rush down Bain dropped

How will it grade out?

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:55 pm

FireLichtBowles2026

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Posted by: @alldaway

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Parrish I think has 2 PDs so far. Low key is putting in the work.

That last one and the one in the end zone should have both been called penalty

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:56 pm

Alldaway 2.0

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Posted by: @firelichtbowles2026

↑

Posted by: @alldaway

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Parrish I think has 2 PDs so far. Low key is putting in the work.

That last one and the one in the end zone should have both been called penalty

It depends on the ref crew. Most will not call it that way.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:56 pm

FireLichtBowles2026

(@firelichtbowles2026)

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Right play call on third down. The line cant block to the inside design. Outside was there but not the design

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:58 pm

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GottaCoachItBetter

(@donkey_hunter)

Posts: 7335

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Jesus...calling screens like that in that spot.

That's gonna get picked and housed.

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 8:58 pm

OlafSnowfake

(@bucsbits)

Posts: 12577

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Great stunt

Posted : Oct. 8, 2026 9:06 pm

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Week 5: Bucs Win If / Cowboys Win If

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