NFL
Buccaneers beat Cowboys 24–16 after 17-point third quarter
Tampa Bay erased a halftime deficit with 17 unanswered third-quarter points. Bucky Irving rushed for 165 yards in the Buccaneers’ 24–16 win at Dallas.
NOT CORPORATE.
Final: Buccaneers 24, Cowboys 16
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Dallas Cowboys 24–16 on October 8 at AT&T Stadium, scoring 17 unanswered points in the third quarter after trailing 10–7 at halftime.
Bucky Irving’s 72-yard run set up Emeka Egbuka’s 14-yard rushing touchdown a minute into the second half. Yaya Diaby then intercepted Dak Prescott, and Jalon Daniels’ 64-yard completion to Tez Johnson helped set up Irving’s one-yard touchdown. A recovered KaVontae Turpin kickoff fumble led to Chase McLaughlin’s 41-yard field goal and a 24–10 lead.
Prescott found George Pickens for an 18-yard touchdown with 5:26 remaining, but Dallas’s two-point attempt failed. Alex Anzalone intercepted the Cowboys’ final possession, and Tampa Bay ran out the clock.
Irving rushed for 165 yards on 21 carries and also caught a five-yard touchdown pass. Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Prescott finished 24-for-42 for 316 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while Pickens caught nine passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay outrushed Dallas 241–50 and forced three turnovers without committing one.
Verified final ESPN record: October 8, 9:28:05 p.m. Mountain Time. Final game record.
October 8, 2026 · Mountain Time
Quarter scoring
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 0 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 24 |
| DAL | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
Scoring plays
- Q1 · 10:51Javonte Williams 1 Yd Rush (Brandon Aubrey Kick)TB 0 · DAL 7
- Q2 · 14:53Bucky Irving 5 Yd pass from Jalon Daniels (Chase McLaughlin Kick)TB 7 · DAL 7
- Q2 · 0:21Brandon Aubrey 41 Yd Field GoalTB 7 · DAL 10
- Q3 · 14:00Emeka Egbuka 14 Yd Rush (Chase McLaughlin Kick)TB 14 · DAL 10
- Q3 · 7:31Bucky Irving 1 Yd Rush (Chase McLaughlin Kick)TB 21 · DAL 10
- Q3 · 2:58Chase McLaughlin 41 Yd Field Goal TB 24 · DAL 10
- Q4 · 5:26George Pickens 18 Yd pass from Dak Prescott (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)TB 24 · DAL 16
Final player box score
TB Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalon Daniels | 19/25 | 189 | 7.6 | 1 | 0 | 1-11 | 110.2 |
TB Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Irving | 21 | 165 | 7.9 | 1 | 72 |
| Jalon Daniels | 7 | 23 | 3.3 | 0 | 9 |
| Kenny Gainwell | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Sean Tucker | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 | 6 |
| Emeka Egbuka | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 1 | 14 |
| Chris Godwin Jr. | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 |
TB Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tez Johnson | 1 | 64 | 64.0 | 0 | 64 | 1 |
| Emeka Egbuka | 6 | 38 | 6.3 | 0 | 21 | 9 |
| Chris Godwin Jr. | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 0 | 19 | 3 |
| Cade Otton | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Bucky Irving | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Kenny Gainwell | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| Payne Durham | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
TB Fumbles
| Player | FUM | LOST | REC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Knowles | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TB Defensive
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Parrish | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Keionte Scott | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Josiah Trotter | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Anzalone | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ifeatu Melifonwu | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tykee Smith | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Christian Rozeboom | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vita Vea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rueben Bain Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Walker | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Miles Killebrew | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bauer Sharp | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A'Shawn Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calijah Kancey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Yaya Diaby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zyon McCollum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
TB Interceptions
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yaya Diaby | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Anzalone | 1 | 0 | 0 |
TB KickReturns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kameron Johnson | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 29 | 0 |
TB PuntReturns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tez Johnson | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
TB Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase McLaughlin | 1/1 | 100.0 | 41 | 3/3 | 6 |
TB Punting
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riley Dixon | 4 | 163 | 40.8 | 0 | 2 | 49 |
DAL Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dak Prescott | 24/42 | 316 | 7.5 | 1 | 2 | 0-0 | 69.1 |
DAL Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javonte Williams | 12 | 45 | 3.8 | 1 | 21 |
| Hunter Luepke | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
DAL Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Pickens | 9 | 130 | 14.4 | 1 | 27 | 13 |
| Ryan Flournoy | 3 | 90 | 30.0 | 0 | 48 | 4 |
| KaVontae Turpin | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| Jonathan Mingo | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Jake Ferguson | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| Javonte Williams | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
DAL Fumbles
| Player | FUM | LOST | REC |
|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | 1 | 1 | 0 |
DAL Defensive
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dee Winters | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jaishawn Barham | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rashan Gary | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donovan Ezeiruaku | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DaRon Bland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Reddy Steward | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malik Hooker | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Otito Ogbonnia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ameer Speed | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caleb Downs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markquese Bell | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Shemar James | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malachi Lawrence | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shavon Revel Jr. | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quinnen Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hunter Luepke | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LT Overton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Clark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juanyeh Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper Beebe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Barron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Booker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
DAL Interceptions
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|
DAL KickReturns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | 5 | 127 | 25.4 | 30 | 0 |
DAL PuntReturns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
DAL Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Aubrey | 1/1 | 100.0 | 41 | 1/1 | 4 |
DAL Punting
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Anger | 3 | 136 | 45.3 | 0 | 2 | 53 |
Earlier game coverage
Initial coverage note, October 8, before kickoff: Saved ESPN snapshot: Oct 8, 6:05:33 pm Mountain Time. The clock is the reported snapshot.
The game was scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Mountain Time at AT&T Stadium. The scoring timeline and final player statistics remain above.
Sources and notes
- ESPN Gamecast: https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401872980
- Official NFL fixture: https://www.nfl.com/games/buccaneers-at-cowboys-2026-reg-5
