Bucky Irving and rookie QB Jalon
Daniels help Bucs beat sloppy Cowboys 24-16 for 1st win of season
[October 09, 2026]
By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — 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.”
[to top of second column] |
Dallas Cowboys' Kavontae Turpin (9) fumbles the ball on a kickoff
return and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recover in the second half of an
NFL football game in Arlington, Texas on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP
Photo/Julio Cortez)
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.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
