THE Dallas Cowboys knew they had been eliminated from the playoffs before even kickoff. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were trying to stay atop the NFC South and had everything to play for, but the Cowboys came out early and took control of the game. Thanks to their offensive performance led by Cooper Rush and CeeDee Lamb, Dallas took a two-score lead on the first two drives and took that lead into the half.
The defense took over in the second half, preventing the Buccaneers from coming back on the final drive to steal the victory from Dallas. Tampa Bay had six possessions in the second half, and the Cowboys forced two turnovers and two punts while only allowing a high-powered Buccaneers offense to score 10 points. This is a complete victory for a team so hurt it could have thrown in the towel weeks ago. Dallas had plenty of stud performances to choose from, with its offensive production in the first half and big defensive plays in the second. There have been enough poor performances to correct, so it doesn’t cost them a win in the last two competitions.
Studs: WR CeeDee Lamb
Lamb is stepping up in a big way, not only as one of the NFL’s best receivers, but also as one of its toughest players. Players play poorly all the time, but they’re usually trying to make the playoffs or sign a big contract. In Lamb’s case, he was paid before the season started and the team was eliminated from the playoffs before kickoff. He also reached important statistical milestones for the season, but continues to play and take hits due to a shoulder injury.
Lamb barely played in the second half due to his injury, but he put up good numbers even though he didn’t see the field much after halftime. He was targeted eight times and caught seven of them for over 100 yards. On the first drive, Lamb converted a 3rd-and-2 that led to a field goal. He later caught a 52-yard reception on a 3rd-and-4, which resulted in a touchdown. Lamb passed Jerry Rice for fourth place in scrimmage yards through the first five seasons of their careers; he only needs 158 yards in the final two games to move to second on this list. He also passed Drew Pearson for fourth place on the Cowboys’ all-time receptions list.
Lamb showed leadership in Dak Prescott’s absence simply by playing well when he could be out at any time due to a significant injury. Many other players are playing until the end of this season because they are young and proven or on one-year contracts, but Lamb is doing it for his teammates, his coach, the fans and the love of game.
Duds: attack in the second half
The Cowboys took control early with a strong offensive performance in the first half. Dallas scored on five of its six drives, scoring 23 points with no involvement from the rushing attack. Tampa Bay has a bottom-five pass defense, allowing over 350 yards per game, but in the second half they bounced back to stop the Cowboys.
Rush had minuscule numbers in the second half, throwing 8 of 11 for 66 yards, and the team only scored three points in the second half. After an opening field goal, Dallas went five plays and a punt and three straight drives ending with three and outs. The defense had to create two turnovers in the fourth quarter to keep the Buccaneers from coming back nine minutes in with less than three minutes to play. That’s one of the issues the Cowboys have had under head coach Mike McCarthy, even though Prescott is healthy at quarterback. The team can’t put away games relying on their offense this season, and it nearly cost them against Tampa Bay.
Studs: QB Cooper Rush
Rush played his best game this season and did almost all of his damage in the first half. He went 26 for 35 for 292 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers. He had a QB rating of 108.3 and played his first game of the season with a positive completion percentage compared to expectations. It was Rush’s fifth-highest career passing total.
His first half was one of the best performances of his career. He led five scoring drives, throwing 18 for 24 for 226 yards and his only touchdown. If that was his total for the entire game, it would still have been his third-most passing yards this season behind only the 247 against the Washington Commanders and the 354 against the Houston Texans. Even though the second half wasn’t as successful, Rush’s first half performance would be enough to be stud worthy and help his team earn another victory.
Duds: Rush Attack
The Cowboys’ rushing attack has intensified over the past month. Rico Dowdle has played like Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley in the last three games. He is the only back all year to eclipse 100 rushing yards in three straight games while averaging over five yards per attempt. Over the last four games, he has rushed 84 times for 478 yards, 5.7 per carry, and his lone rushing touchdown. He was on a roll, but the rushing attack against the Buccaneers was nonexistent.
Dowdle had just 13 attempts and averaged less than two yards per carry. Overall, the team averaged just 1.6 yards per carry. Only two runs were used on first downs, and when Dallas had to close out the contest, the running game was no help. In the fourth quarter, Dowdle completed three handoffs for 6 yards and Turpin had a run that went negative by 1 yard. The Cowboys were up by two scores, but had two fourth-quarter drives in less than 100 seconds, and their longest drive lasted less than two minutes, 30 seconds. Dallas needs to find a way to use its rushing attack to kill the clock late in the game if it has a more than one score lead.
Studs: Starting linebackers
DeMarvion Overshown’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was a blow that the Cowboys defense overcame thanks to the play of rookie Marist Liufau. He had five tackles, one for a loss and a forced fumble against the Carolina Panthers. He improved those numbers against Tampa Bay with seven tackles, another forced fumble and a big hit that broke up a third-down pass that secured a Buccaneers punt.
Replacing a young playmaking linebacker with another young playmaker is one thing, but the last-minute removal of the team’s leading tackler and defensive play-caller, Eric Kendricks, was even more difficult because his replacement was a player who played primarily on special teams. Nick Vigil had 53 defensive snaps in 13 games and 10 total tackles heading into the Tampa Bay game. In his first start of 2024, Vigil led the team with 10 tackles, doubling his tackle total for the season, and he picked off Baker Mayfield on a Micah Parsons sack.
The way Mike Zimmer held a red-hot Buccaneers offense to 17 points with three minutes left with a rookie and starting special teams linebacker is an incredible feat for a defensive coordinator who had a bottom-five defense at mid-point. season.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Podcast Through the Cowboys.
This article was originally published on Cowboys Wire: Stallions, misses as Cowboys climb out of the mud in win over Bucs
