The Dallas Cowboys Embarrassed Themselves on Thursday Night Football

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The Dallas Cowboys Embarrassed Themselves on Thursday Night Football

Originally posted on Lindy's Sports | By Adam Martin | Last updated Oct 9, 2026 4:33 PM ET

The Dallas Cowboys were huge favorites to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their home turf on Week 5 Thursday Night Football, but America’s Team laid an egg with a pathetic 24-16 loss to a previously winless Bucs squad and their rookie QB Jalon Daniels.

This was an absolutely embarrassing performance for the Cowboys, who dropped to 2-3 with the loss, which currently has them sitting in third place in the NFC East.

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Not only was Dallas expected to beat Tampa Bay, but they were expected to win by eight points. Instead, the inverse happened as they lost by eight points to a bad Tampa Bay team.

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer needs to be better.Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Dak Prescott Needs To Be Way Better

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott really struggled against the Bucs, throwing just 24/42 for 316 yards while tossing just one touchdown compared to two interceptions.

The second pick, which came late in the fourth quarter when Dallas was mounting a late comeback, pretty much sealed the win for Tampa Bay, who desperately needed a win to avoid going 0-5 — a mark that no team in NFL history has ever come back from to make the playoffs.

1-4 isn’t much better, but it at least gives the Bucs some hope this season, especially playing in a terrible division like the NFC South, the weakest division in the NFL.

Plus, the win saves Bucs head coach Todd Bowles‘ job, which surely would have been on the line had they lost this game.

In general, I think Prescott is a very solid quarterback — not elite by any means, but certainly well above average — and I think the Cowboys have a chance to win a Super Bowl with him, provided they put the right pieces around him.

But he did not play well against the Buccaneers on TNF, and if he plays as poorly as he did in this game, then the Cowboys won’t go anywhere this season.

Because in the NFL, you only go as far as your QB takes you, and if your QB struggles and can’t make the big play when you need them to, you aren’t going to win many games in a league that is chock full of as much parity as the NFL.

This article first appeared on Lindy's Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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