ARLINGTON, Texas — Bucky Irving already had his first 100-yard game since his rookie year in 2024 when the Tampa Bay running back finished off the Dallas Cowboys with a run that gave him a career high.
Jalon Daniels, the undrafted rookie filling in for franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield, enjoyed the view while doing plenty himself to get the Buccaneers their first win of the season in just his second start.
Irving ran for 165 yards, including a 72-yard run to set up the touchdown that put Tampa Bay ahead for good while scoring twice himself, and the Buccaneers beat the Cowboys 24-16 on Thursday night.
Daniels threw a TD pass to Irving in the first half while directing a turnover-free offense and amid several Dallas miscues, finishing an efficient 19 of 25 for 189 yards as the Bucs piled up 241 yards rushing.
Daniels is filling in for Baker Mayfield, who's expected to be sidelined at least one more game with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand.
"Six months ago, if you would have told me that my first win would have been on a Thursday night, (Amazon) Prime football game, I don't know what I would have told you," said Daniels, who threw three interceptions in a 17-14 loss to Green Bay in his debut. "Like I keep saying, through all the highs and lows, the bads, the goods, go through every single emotion because at the end of the day, it makes you better and prepares you for any situation that comes down the line."
Irving had 21 carries and a 7.9-yard average while scoring on a 5-yard pass and a 1-yard plunge as the Bucs (1-4) finally found some footing in a season that started with expectations of winning the NFC South.
“We lost the first quarter of the season,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “We didn’t lose the second, third or fourth. We’ve still got to play those. So we started the second quarter tonight. It’s a long way to climb out, but at the same time, we’re upbeat and if we played as hard and played as effective, we’ll be OK.”
Dak Prescott led a 99-yard drive and threw a 13-yard TD pass to George Pickens in the fourth quarter before his second interception off a tipped pass helped Tampa Bay clinch the win in the final two minutes.
The Cowboys (2-3) continued an up-and-down start to the season, this time with an offense that was as times as sloppy as the defense has been in both seasons under coach Brian Schottenheimer.
“I didn’t plan on being 2-3, disappointed by that for sure,” Schottenheimer said. “But we’re just getting started. There’s a lot of football left and we’re gonna play better. We know that.”
After Irving's long run on the first play of the second half was followed by receiver Emeka Egbuka's 14-yard TD run on a jet sweep, Prescott threw his first interception and the Dallas defense left Tez Johnson wide open on a 64-yard grab that led to Irving's 1-yard plunge for a 21-10 lead.
KaVontae Turpin's fumble on the subsequent kickoff led to a Tampa Bay field goal, but only after the Bucs converted a third-and-21 from the Dallas 48-yard line with Daniels' 21-yard pass to Egbuka.
The Cowboys were missing one of the pieces they recently added to try to fix a porous defense. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was a late scratch in what was supposed to be his second appearance since arriving in a trade from Pittsburgh last week.
Prescott was 24 of 42 for 316 yards in his first two-interception game of the season — his first picks since the opener.
Bucs have long and short TD drives
Irving's 5-yard TD catch capped a 15-play, 73-yard drive that ran the final 10:44 off the clock in the first quarter and had a final count of 10:58. Then his 72-yard run was the first of two plays on an 86-yard drive that took exactly 1 minute.
Feast, then famine for Lamb
Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb followed his career high of 17 catches, when he had 189 yards receiving and a touchdown last weekend against Houston, with just two catches for 9 yards on five targets. He was targeted 21 times against the Texans. Lamb exited the game with a quadriceps injury.
Injuries
Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs was sidelined by cramps in the second half.
Cowboys: LT Tyler Guyton left with a back issue in the second half. ... DB Alijah Clark exited with a hamstring injury in the first half and didn't return.
Up next
Buccaneers: Home against Pittsburgh on Oct. 18.
Cowboys: At Green Bay on Oct. 18.
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