Bucky Irving runs wild as Bucs upset Cowboys, 24-16, in prime time

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 8, 2026

Published in Football

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It’s alive!

Left for dead just a week ago, the 2026 NFL season is born again in Tampa Bay.

The Bucs pulled off their biggest upset in years behind rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels and a late interception by Alex Anzalone to beat the Cowboys, 24-16, in Dallas on Thursday night.

With the NFC South in a typical mediocre morass, the Bucs are on the cusp of contention despite a 1-4 record.

Tampa Bay, which was an 9.5-point underdog on some betting lines, trailed the Cowboys 10-7 at halftime before the offense came alive with big play after big play in the third quarter.

Bucky Irving, who rushed for 165 yards, provided the spark with a 72-yard run on the first play of the second half. Moments later, Emeka Egbuka ran it in for the score from 14 yards out, and the Bucs did not trail the rest of the way.

Daniels, starting his second NFL game with Baker Mayfield sidelined with a dislocated thumb, completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Daniels stuck to a short passing game for much of the night, but he delivered a 64-yard strike to Tez Johnson on the second drive of the third quarter to set up a short Irving touchdown run.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles gambled late in the fourth quarter when he bypassed a short field goal that would have given the Bucs a 17-point lead and instead tried to score from the 1-yard line on fourth down. The Cowboys held and then quickly put together a 99-yard drive. Dallas took its own risk on a two-point conversion that was broken up by cornerback Keionte Scott.

Dallas got the ball back with just under four minutes remaining and drove to the Tampa Bay 24 before a Dak Prescott pass was deflected and grabbed by Anzalone.

Game balls

Just a brilliant game from Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish. The Cowboys have one of the more potent passing attacks in the NFL and Tampa Bay’s corners met the challenge for much of the night. CeeDee Lamb came in as the league’s leading receiver but was held to two catches for 9 yards with McCollum doing most of the work. (Lamb left the game with a quad injury in the fourth quarter.) Parrish was all over the field, breaking up passes and finishing with nine tackles.

Play of the game

This was the moment you dreamed about for the past month. A game-changing splash play by the Bucs offense. Early in the third quarter, Irving took a handoff and went left toward the edge before cutting back and finding a seam up the middle. It took 72 yards for the Cowboys to bring him down. The gain was the eighth-longest rush from scrimmage in Tampa Bay history, and the longest since Ronald Jones set the team record with a 98-yard gain against Carolina in 2020.

NFC South update

That climb out of the cellar just got a little more realistic. Tampa Bay is now 1 1/2 games out of first place and a 1/2 game out of third. Positive thought of the day? The Saints are facing the 4-0 Vikings and the Falcons have the 3-1 Ravens, so the Bucs could pick up ground from their couches.

Up next

The upside of playing on Thursday night is getting an extra three days to rest/prepare for the next week. In this case, the Bucs will take on the Steelers, who have a game at home on Sunday against the Colts. Positive thought of the day, Part II? Pittsburgh is 0-2 on the road.