October 8, 2026Updated October 9, 2026, 12:48 a.m. ET
In one of the biggest upsets of a young NFL season, the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushed to North Texas and beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 in a game that generally wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The win helped the Bucs avoid an 0-5 start that would have ended their season — statistically, at least — while a Cowboys team that was beaten, both literally and figuratively, will have to simmer amid its own disappointing 2-3 record over the next 10 days before heading to Lambeau Field for a “Sunday Night Football” date with the Green Bay Packers and, potentially, old friend Micah Parsons over the week 6.
There’s a lot to unpack here beyond the final score. Your winners and losers from “Thursday Night Football,” week 5 version:
WINNERS
Milestone Daniels
He made history on Sunday, becoming the first undrafted rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to start a game in Week 4 or earlier. Week 5 was even better, with Daniels becoming the first undrafted rookie in the common draft era (since 1967) to complete his first eight passes in a game – this happened on a 15-play, 73-yard TD that opened the game and set the tone. Daniels finished with 189 yards and a TD pass, generally playing error-free football, en route to his first NFL W.
Bucky Irving
Tampa Bay’s senior back had a huge night, capping that first drive with a 5-yard TD catch from Daniels. Irving effectively put the game on ice with a 22-yard run on his final touch. Between the two, he racked up 175 yards from scrimmage while finding the end zone twice.
Buccaneers playoff chances
Make no mistake, they are still on life support. But no team in NFL history has overcome an 0-5 start to reach the playoffs – while A The club (the 1992 San Diego Chargers) overcame a 1-4 record to advance beyond the regular season. We say there’s a chance…especially in the historically average NFC South.
Todd Bowles’ harness
Slightly more airy with the defeat of the Bucs. Still, after starting this year and finishing last season 2-7 (after a 6-2 start), Tampa Bay’s fifth-year head coach likely still has some work to do if he wants to return in 2027.
Jason Licht’s phone
If the Bucs had lost, which would have effectively ended their season, their longtime GM surely would have fielded numerous calls from peers checking on the availability of players like WR Chris Godwin, OLB Yaya Diaby and NT Vita Vea before next month’s trade deadline. And it could still happen…but Licht will at least get to enjoy the next week and a half, at least.
Tyler Smith
Dallas’ perennial Pro Bowl O-lineman made his 2026 regular season debut after a thumb injury in training camp, which required surgery, cost him the first month of the season.
LOSERS
Christian Parker and the Dallas defense
The Cowboys’ presumptive rookie DC, 34, has failed to live up to the preseason hype, unable to remedy a unit that undermined this franchise a year ago — or, to quote Jerry Jones after last season, Dallas still hasn’t “played a little defense.” On Thursday, the Cowboys couldn’t contain an inexperienced quarterback or a previously sputtering offense, which generated a game-high 419 yards at AT&T Stadium. Dallas was penalized twice, extending Tampa’s drive out of the chute, never slowed Irving down and couldn’t get off the field – the Buccaneers held the ball for nearly 40 minutes while converting seven of 13 third downs.
“It was bad. It was bad in every phase,” said Prime Video analyst and former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. “You just don’t see them pop up in any significant way.”
Another former player, ex-Bucs star Gerald McCoy, now an NFL Network analyst, was even harsher on Parker earlier in the day on ESPN.
“There’s a difference between passing the test and teaching the class and building the program,” McCoy said of Parker’s transition from passing game coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles to DBs coach in Dallas DC.
Still, Parker isn’t the guy to blame for Parsons’ absence – especially on a night when Daniels was sacked and hit just once.
Dak Prescott
He wasn’t able that night to sufficiently compensate for Dallas D. Prescott’s poor interception on the Cowboys’ first possession of the third quarter, short-circuiting a promising drive and leading to a Bucs TD that put them up 21-10. The pick he threw on his final pass — the one deflected by TE Jake Ferguson into the waiting arms of Bucs LB Alex Anzalone — ended all of his team’s shots during a late comeback attempt.
Lamb CeeDee
Four days after a career game in Houston (17 catches for 189 yards and the winning TD reception), he injured his quad in the fourth quarter, the worst moment of an already quiet evening (2 catches, 9 yards). The only good news here is that Lamb has 10 days to potentially prepare for Dallas’ date at Green Bay.
DaRon bland
Daniels attempted to give the former All-Pro corner a pick in the final four minutes, which would have potentially tied the game. But Bland’s hands failed him, the record holder for pick-six in a season (5 in 2023) unable to restore momentum to the Cowboys.
Prime Video Pre-Game Team
Let’s start by recognizing that a group that includes former players Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tony Gonzalez, Sherman and Andrew Whitworth – and hosted by Charissa Thompson – is generally an entertaining, self-deprecating and insightful group, and willing to experiment and take risks on a platform that is only in its fifth season. But the last two weeks haven’t been great.
Prior to the Cowboys-Bucs game, Sherman widely speculated that newly acquired Dallas CB Joey Porter Jr. sat out as part of a negotiation tactic to secure a contract extension.
“I’m very interested in how this is going to go,” Sherman said on set pregame, while munching on popcorn for dramatic effect. “The Dallas Cowboys are facing a little bit of what the Pittsburgh Steelers were facing. Hey, is he going to play? Right? Is he sick? Isn’t he? Does he have a bad back? Right? Negotiations are a business.”
He later added: “Maybe if they (Dallas) had given him a new contract, maybe he would have been a little healthier today.”
Sherman eventually admitted he was just speculating after reporter Kaylee Hartung detailed the illness of Porter, who reportedly vomited before the game and left the stadium alongside a team staff member who was carrying a trash can.
This episode occurred a week after the Prime Video team largely avoided analyzing the background of controversial Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who settled more than two dozen lawsuits stemming from sexual misconduct allegations. Gonzalez even went so far as to say, “You have to take your hat off to (Watson),” who led Cleveland to a 3-1 start and share of first place in the AFC North.
“I’m so proud and happy for him.”
Phew. And phew.
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