Dallas Cowboys Suffer Schottenheimer’s Most Inexcusable Loss

ARLINGTON

In a game that had everything predicted for the Dallas Cowboys to get above .500, they instead wilted in prime time with a 24-16 loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving controlled the game, running for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown to help undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels win his first NFL game. The defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense collapsed due to its mistakes.

Here are the five takeaways from the atrocities in Arlington:

Brian Schottenheimer’s Most Inexcusable Loss

Wins can’t always be quantified as a quarterback stat, but they certainly can be for a head coach. And after Thursday’s loss brought Brian Schottenheimer to 9-12-1, it’s hard to find a more inexcusable defeat than this one.

The reality of the situation was that the Cowboys welcomed an undrafted rookie quarterback to a winless team on a short week with two replacements in the secondary. It’s not just a surprise that the Cowboys didn’t win big, it’s an absolute embarrassment that they’re on the wrong side of a blowout instead.

“I’m a little disappointed, for sure,” Schottenheimer said after the match. “I told the guys there there were some missed opportunities. We didn’t play well in all three phases, certainly not well enough to win a game in the National Football League.”

The journey over the past 11 days hasn’t been kind to the Cowboys, but beating this team was supposed to be the easiest part of the streak. Instead, they looked unprepared, unrested and out of sorts for 60 minutes. As a result, this is a 2-3 football team.

A defensive embarrassment

As mentioned above, the cards were stacked for the Cowboys defense to stand out against Tampa Bay on Thursday. The Buccaneers entered the game allowing the most sacks in the NFL, bottom three in giveaways, and failed to score more than 20 points in three out of four games.

Let’s look at how the defense did with this: one sack, zero takedowns and 24 points allowed. Tampa Bay’s game plan was obvious: shorten the game with long possessions and quick plays to make life easier for its rookie quarterback. That’s exactly what he did without any reaction from defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s unit.

“We’re still, in my mind, where we started in terms of our defense,” owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “And what would concern me the most, without looking at an ounce of tape, is how they were able to get the ball inside us, and I didn’t think that could happen with us.”

With veteran players with proven skins on the league wall like Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary and Malik Hooker on that side of the ball, that shouldn’t happen. One disastrous loss later, the Cowboys defense will now have a little break to take a long look in the mirror and see exactly what direction this defense is heading.

DaRon Bland’s job isn’t safe

Cornerback DaRon Bland deserved some grace after back-to-back years with serious foot injuries, but the grace period and waiting game for him to return to his 2023 form is long gone. Maybe it’s time to accept that he’s not the same player anymore — an unpleasant thought considering he signed a four-year, $92 million contract extension a year ago.

It’s a harsh reality because Bland’s brilliance in 2023 was so bright. But since then, his name has been associated with many more weaknesses. On Thursday, that included two slips and falls that resulted in a 64-yard gain to set up a touchdown and a 21-yard gain on third-and-21 to move the chains and set up another Buccaneers touchdown.

Thursday’s performance for Bland comes after a two-week stretch in which he allowed eight receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown. Although coverage numbers aren’t official, Bland easily gave up another 100-yard day. And even when Bland had a chance to redeem himself with a late interception, the ball hit his hands and fell to the turf. Worse still, there was only green grass between him and the end zone.

When Joey Porter Jr. recovers from his illness and Cobie Durant heals from his hamstring injury, Bland’s job shouldn’t be a given. There are better corners on this team right now.

Offense is just as much to blame

There’s a case to be made that in many of the Cowboys’ losses over the past two years, the offense did everything it could to make an atrocious defense let them down. And while the defense isn’t getting away with any blame, neither is the offense in this one.

The start was perfect: take the ball, go down the field and score with ease. George Pickens went for it, Javonte Williams capped it off with a touchdown. After that, it took everything the offense had to force its way to points. Bryan Anger made three consecutive drives for the first time in two years, Dak Prescott threw his second interception of the year, KaVontae Turpin fumbled a kickoff and the drives stopped after just a few plays.

“Pressure,” Prescott said of the issues the offense was facing. “It wasn’t just one pressure, or one secondary pressure, or the linebackers coming in all the time. They were changing all the time.”

Late in the game, an opportunity presented itself to hold back-to-back drives and push into overtime. And although the 99-yard run to bring the score to eight points went smoothly, the group wasn’t finished.

Confidence decreases in the placement unit

For the first time since the end of the 2024 season, the Cowboys chose to punt to the opponent’s 47-yard line or closer. In the second quarter, with an opportunity for a 64-yard field goal, Schottenheimer sent the punt team instead of bringing out Brandon Aubrey.

After back-to-back weeks in which field goals were blocked, including at a crucial time in Houston, Schottenheimer shook confidence in the unit. Even though he’s the highest-paid kicker in the league, it takes a protection team up front to have confidence in the unit as well.

The Cowboys (2-3) return to action against the Green Bay Packers (2-2) on October 18.

This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 10:24 p.m..