{"id":420493,"date":"2026-10-06T19:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420493\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T19:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:16:53","slug":"tampa-bay-buccaneers-dallas-cowboys-game-preview-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420493\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys game preview, matchups"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week the Buccaneers play on Thursday Night Football, a national spotlight for a team that does not deserve it. Tampa Bay is 0-4 (only two games out of first though, just ask coach Bowles<\/a>) with a spiraling feeling surrounding the organization. The Bucs are not yet lifeless, but the trend is nearing that point. Losers of 11 of their last 13, Tampa is flatly not good right now and does not appear to nearing a solution or a corner to turn in the near future. The team has a coach on the hot seat, a quarterback in a thumb cast, and a familiar vibe starting to set in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to coach it better, we\u2019ve got to play it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 -Todd Robert Bowles<\/p>\n

How can the Buccaneers win?<\/p>\n

\"TAMPA,<\/a><\/p>\n

TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 27: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Lineman A\u2019Shawn Robinson (91) intercepts a pass and runs with the ball after being touched down during the regular season game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 27, 2026 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.(Photo by Cliff Welch\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Buccaneers will be entering Thursday\u2019s game with a minute margin of error. In order for Tampa to win their first game of the season, not only will they need their A-game, but they will likely need that A-game to be accompanied by a few breaks\u2014 Breaks Daniel LaRusso would be proud of<\/a> (Tampa may be given similar odds as well). The Bucs will be pitted up against a team with legitimate championship aspirations that is need of a victory. Dallas is just 2-2, leagues ahead of the prey they\u2019ll see on Thursday night, but not near where expectations would have placed them at the year\u2019s start.<\/p>\n

There is no denying that the Buccaneers are going to struggle to match the Cowboys\u2019 personnel. Tampa has injuries, youth, and just general lethargy going against them. Perhaps this will be the week that the team will in fact coach it better and then wind up playing it better, however, a more likely outcome is Bowles\u2019 bunch will look much like it has thus far in 2026, meaning their straightest path towards victory will be turnovers.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys have two games this season where they have played a clean game\u2014 They are 2-0 in those contests. Subsequently, they\u2019ve played two games where their heralded offense has given the ball away to its opposition\u2014 Dallas is 0-2 in these games.<\/p>\n

Simple data, but its data that is tied back to a tale as old as time\u2014 If you win the turnover battle, you win the game.<\/p>\n

Todd Bowles\u2019 Buccaneers have little to no chance at winning this game in many people\u2019s eyes, however, any chance they do have is going to rest on taking care of the ball offensively and taking the ball away from Dak Prescott to give that offense more opportunities to find points of their own.<\/p>\n

Can this coaching staff guide an undrafted rookie quarterback away mistakes without handcuffing him to first down runs every sequence? Can Todd Bowles generate some pressure and force Dak Prescott into a mistake, or two\u2026 Or three?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t win a game, if you don\u2019t score any points.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 -John Madden<\/p>\n

How can the Buccaneers lose?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

TAMPA, FL – OCTOBER 04: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) carries the ball for yardage during the regular season game between the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 04, 2026 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.(Photo by Cliff Welch\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s set the table. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading into a primetime matchup, on a short week, up against one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, while they wield an offense that has been as dull as a school-lunchroom spork. In four games, Dallas has been held under 30 just one time and has never been kept beneath 20. Factually, the Cowboys can score points and it is unlikely Todd Bowles\u2019 defense will be able to keep the lid on Dak and co. for the entirety of this game. The Buccaneers will need to score. There is not a single NFL game where you don\u2019t need to score (if you plan on winning), but this Thursday in particular, they will touchdowns. The issue is, undrafted rookie quarterback or not, the Buccaneers\u2019 offense doesn\u2019t really spend a lot of time scoring. So far, 2026 hasn\u2019t really been about touchdowns for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n

Operating as essentially an antonym for Dallas\u2019 output, the Buccaneers haven\u2019t hit the thirty-point mark in any game this season\u2014 They\u2019ve only broken 20 one time, way back in week one. For context that 27-point explosion against the Cincinnati Bengals was aided by a defensive score when Josiah Trotter pick sixed Joe Burrow. It is extremely unlikely that the Bucs are going to be able to steal a victory totaling 16 points which is what they\u2019re averaging since that week one performance.<\/p>\n

The easiest way the Buccaneers can lose this game is most obvious way the Buccaneers can lose this game\u2014 The prediction that anyone prepared to watch this game would make. Dallas is going to score points, they may score a lot of points\u2014<\/p>\n

Can the Buccaneers\u2019 offense do something it has not been able to all season and score touchdowns to be able to keep up wth them? That will be the question for Zac Robinson and his floundering unit on Thursday night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week the Buccaneers play on Thursday Night Football, a national spotlight for a team that does not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,11688,137,136],"class_list":["post-420493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers-game-information","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}