Thursday night in Week 5 brings a lopsided NFC meeting to Dallas, where the 2-2 Cowboys host a Tampa Bay team still searching for its first win. The matchup sets up as a stark contrast in form: Dallas is coming off a road upset of the Houston Texans, while the Buccaneers enter at 0-4 and dealing with major uncertainty at quarterback.
The biggest storyline for Tampa Bay is Baker Mayfield’s thumb. According to Schefter, “Baker Mayfield (right thumb) expected to miss 3-6 weeks.”
Mayfield already sat in Week 3, and the Buccaneers managed only 14 points in a loss to Green Bay with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels starting. Daniels didn’t completely sink the offense, but Tampa Bay’s attack still sits in the bottom three in the league in EPA/Play, and that kind of production is a tough sell against a Dallas team that ranks among the five best offenses in the league.
Dallas, meanwhile, looks like a team that found its stride in Week 4. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb powered the win over Houston, and the Cowboys are now heavily favored at home after being underdogs in that game.
Prescott has leaned heavily on Lamb all season, and the numbers show it. Through four games, Lamb has been targeted 46 times, caught 37 passes, and piled up almost 500 yards.
Lamb was the engine against Houston, finishing with 17 catches on 21 targets for 189 yards and a touchdown, including the go-ahead score. He may not see that kind of volume again, but he has still caught at least five passes in every game this season, and Tampa Bay’s pass defense, while around league average in EPA/Pass, has a tough assignment on its hands.
The matchup also points toward points. The OVER has hit in every Dallas game this season, and the Cowboys look built for that kind of script.
Their offense is top five in EPA/Play, but the defense has been a problem, ranking among the three worst units in the league in EPA/Play. Dallas has allowed at least 20 points in every game and 28 or more in three of four.
That leaves room for Tampa Bay to contribute enough, even if Daniels is again under center. The Buccaneers scored 14 against Green Bay and had red-zone chances throughout that game, and Dallas has also been vulnerable on the ground, entering Week 4 allowing 5.0 yards per carry in 2026. Tampa Bay’s offense remains a bottom-three unit by EPA/Play, but the Cowboys’ defense has not exactly been shutting people down.
That’s why this game has a clear scoring lean. Prescott and the Dallas offense should be good for something in the neighborhood of 30 points, and Tampa Bay may only need to do enough to stay in range for the total to climb.
Tampa Bay has yet to cover the spread in 2026, which makes the Bucs a dangerous bet with a backup quarterback. Dallas has the better offense, the healthier outlook, and the home-field edge in a matchup that looks tilted toward the Cowboys.
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Through the first four games, though, neither has made the kind of case that usually leads to a quick extension. Diabys pass rush production has tailed off, while Mauch has had a rough return from injury in both the run game and protection. If those trends hold, Tampa Bay could be staring at two more obvious free-agent decisions next spring, and neither one looks simple right now. [Read more 🡒]
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Buccaneers Face A Brutal Thursday Test With Early Pressure Mounting
Thursday night brings a tricky reset point for Tampa Bay, which heads into Week 5 still searching for its first win and doing it without starting quarterback Baker Mayfield. The spotlight is on the kind of primetime matchup that can either steady a season or deepen the early damage, and the Buccaneers are walking into a Dallas team that will be eager to respond in front of its own crowd.
For Tampa Bay, the challenge is not just surviving the short week but finding enough stability to hang around against a Cowboys team that needs better defense while counting on its offense to set the tone at home. The matchup feels like a steep ask already, and the expectation around it is leaning heavily toward Dallas taking control by a wide margin. [Read more 🡒]