Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Kenny Gainwell (1) is tackled by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland (26) at the Dallas 46 yard line at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON — There were plenty of frustrating moments for the Cowboys in their 24-16 loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday at AT&T Stadium. A third down play in the third quarter might’ve been the most puzzling of those.
The Buccaneers were backed into a 3rd-and-21 situation at their own 48-yard line. Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin had fumbled on the kickoff a few plays prior, giving Tampa Bay the ball back in a 21-10 game. The Cowboys responded with their first sack of the game and an incompletion, giving them a chance to get off the field unscathed.
Instead, Tampa Bay converted on 3rd and 21. Quarterback Jalon Daniels sat for five seconds in the pocket without much pressure from the Cowboys’ four-man front. He then found Emeka Egbuka, their No. 1 wide receiver, between a parallelogram of Cowboys defenders — none of which were very close to Egbuka.
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To get open, Egbuka simply ran to the first down marker and turned around. He even had a moment to wait for Daniels’ pass to arrive.
The Cowboys eventually forced a field goal from the Buccaneers to keep it a two-possession game. The ease in which they converted on that third down — in a pivotal moment at the time — was enough to frustrate fans.
Cowboys corner DaRon Bland was the closest guy to Egbuka. He said the Cowboys were in a Cover 3 zone, meaning he and two others were responsible for the deepest thirds of the coverage. It’s designed to ensure that no receiver gets deeper than them.
The Cowboys also lined up deep on that play from the beginning. They dropped seven players back. None of those seven players were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Bland immediately turned and started jogging backward at the snap of the ball. He jogged back to the 22-yard line — about five yards past the first down marker — before he tried to turn back to cover Egbuka. Bland slipped and fell. No other Cowboys were close in zone coverage.
“I’ve just got to come down and finish it,” Bland said after the game, adding that he was tasked with playing deep.
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Bland was then asked about his coverage going well beyond the first down marker.
“On that one, I’m pretty much going off the receiver,” Bland said.
Bland wasn’t the only player whose coverage went well beyond the first down marker. Safety Malik Hooker also dropped back deep, though there wasn’t an imminent threat of a receiver surpassing him.
It was also the second time Bland fell in coverage on Sunday. Bland fell down in coverage against Tampa Bay wide receiver Tez Johnson, which resulted in a 64-yard reception.
“I just slipped,” Bland said. “I’ve got to keep my feet on that.”
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Bland has now been targeted 27 times this season, according to NFL Pro. He’s allowed 18 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He hasn’t recorded an interception, though he nearly had one in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers. The dropped interception could’ve resulted in a touchdown, too, if he was able to catch it.
“I’ve got to execute,” said Bland, who has 15 career interceptions, including six that were returned for touchdowns.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM): “He had a chance there to do a Bland, which is intercept the ball in a key time. That was meaningful as it turned out.”
Jones was adamant that Bland, despite having two foot surgeries in the previous two years, hasn’t seen a drop off in his physical abilities.
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“He’s got to continue to work to play at the level we expect of him,” Jones said. “He’s paid because of how he played in the past. One of the things you can always bet on — one of the surest things — is when you’ve seen him do it in the past they can do it again, if they haven’t had physical diminishment of their physical skills. And he hasn’t.”