Buccaneers pull away from Cowboys in third quarter for 24-16 win

Bucs take over after halftime

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up their first win of the season Thursday night, beating the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 at AT&T Stadium behind 165 rushing yards from Bucky Irving and a 17-point third quarter.

Dallas got on the board first when Javonte Williams scored from 1 yard out in the opening quarter. Tampa Bay tied it early in the second when Jalon Daniels threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Irving, and Brandon Aubrey's 41-yard field goal with 21 seconds left sent the Cowboys to halftime ahead 10-7.

The decisive stretch

The third quarter belonged to Tampa Bay. Emeka Egbuka ran 14 yards for a touchdown to give the Bucs the lead, Irving added a 1-yard scoring run, and Chase McLaughlin kicked a 41-yard field goal for a 24-10 edge.

Dallas answered with 5:26 left in the game when Dak Prescott found George Pickens for an 18-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed and the Cowboys did not score again.

By the numbers

Irving carried 21 times for 165 yards and finished with two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Daniels went 19 of 25 for 189 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

Prescott threw for 316 yards on 24-of-42 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. Pickens caught nine balls for 130 yards, and Williams rushed 12 times for 45 yards.

Dallas is now 2-3, and Tampa Bay is 1-4. The game drew 92,351.

Sources

ESPN