A Big Upset In The Big D: 3 Takeaways From Cowboys' Stunning Loss To Buccaneers

AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) — If you thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would upset the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, then congratulations, you were on the right side of one of the biggest upsets this NFL season.

In a game that many expected the 9.5-point favorite Cowboys to run away with, the Buccaneers put on a strong road performance for much of the night, winning 24-16.

The win was Tampa Bay's first of the season, coming as head coach Todd Bowles dealt with constant hot-seat talk.

Now, will head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys deal with the same talk as they fell to 2-3 on the season? Here are my takeaways from the Buccaneers' upset win over the Cowboys.

This could have been a prime-time showcase for Dak Prescott against a winless opponent, a chance to elevate the Cowboys and show them as a worthy contender in a muddled NFC East.

But Prescott struggled to complete passes to his two elite receivers for the first three-plus quarters of Thursday night's game, enough so that he was booed in his own stadium after a fourth-down pass sailed high and incomplete.

Give credit to Bucs corners Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish for keeping CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in check.

Entering the fourth quarter, Pickens had 63 yards on eight targets, and Lamb was held to 9 yards on five targets.

Dallas came in averaging 30 points per game, second-best in the NFL.

But after marching down the field to score on their opening drive, the Cowboys managed three points on their next seven drives.

That the Cowboys pulled off a 99-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter after a stop at the 1-yard line was impressive.

That was too little, too late, though.

The Cowboys' final drive got to the Bucs’ 33, but any shot at a tying score was ended when a Prescott pass bounced off Jake Ferguson and was picked off by linebacker Alex Anzalone.

Prescott finished the night completing 24 of 42 passes for 316 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.