Momentum can change very quickly in the NFL. A week ago, the Dallas Cowboys were 1-2 and coming off a heartbreaking last-second defeat in Brazil. Now they are back at .500 after a dramatic 34-30 comeback victory over the Houston Texans, and have an opportunity to move above .500 on Thursday Night Football.
Standing in their way are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but we have some reasons to be positive this week.
Tampa Bay arrives at AT&T Stadium at 0-4, without its starting quarterback and without one of
the best players on its defense. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott is playing some of the best football in the league, CeeDee Lamb is absolutely on fire, and Javonte Williams just scored three touchdowns.
The biggest reason for confidence remains Dak Prescott. Through four games, Prescott has thrown for 1,065 yards, eight touchdowns and only one interception while completing 70% of his passes.
He has now gone three straight games without throwing an interception. That matters with the Cowboys having scored at least 31 points in each of their last three games.
On the opposite side, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield will not play because of a thumb injury. Instead, undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels will make only his second NFL start. Daniels completed 19 of 27 passes against Green Bay last week but managed only 148 passing yards. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.
Now he has to make his second start on the road at AT&T Stadium on a short week. Dallas should make that as uncomfortable as possible.
Superstar receiver CeeDee Lamb is coming off an incredible 17-catch, 189-yard performance against Houston. He now has 498 receiving yards through four games. Making that matchup even better for Dallas is the absence of Antoine Winfield Jr, one of Tampa Bay’s best defensive players. Without him in the secondary, Prescott should have opportunities to attack with Lamb, Jake Ferguson and George Pickens.
Javonte Williams is another big reason to be positive for Cowboys fans. He scored three rushing touchdowns against Houston and now has four rushing scores over the last two games. This shows that Dallas does not need Prescott throwing 45 times every week. Using Williams can help control the clock and protect the quarterback.
The Buccaneers have already allowed 16 sacks in four games. Dallas has struggled to finish pressures with sacks this season, but this is a good matchup for the pass rush to finally break through and get some momentum. If Quinnen Williams and the defensive front can make Daniels uncomfortable, mistakes should follow along with a multiple sacks.
The Cowboys are finally back at AT&T Stadium after playing in Brazil and then travelling to Houston. Dallas won its only true home game so far this season, beating Washington 37-20 in healthy fashion. That environment should be difficult for a rookie quarterback making only his second career start.
The Buccaneers are 0-4, but every one of their games have been competitive. They lost 33-27 to Cincinnati, 23-19 to Cleveland, 23-16 to Minnesota, then lost 17-14 to Green Bay. The positive here for Dallas is that Tampa Bay hasn’t shown it can finish those close games, but Dallas just did.
The Cowboys were behind late in Houston, took the football with 2:15 remaining and drove down the field for the winning touchdown. One team has just proved it can finish. The other is still looking for its first win.
Tampa will be without its starting quarterback, and star defensive player, plus early practice reports have listed cornerback Benjamin Morrison and linebacker SirVocea Dennis as non-participants. Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter was also limited with a knee injury.
For Dallas, Tyler Smith is back in practice, so things are looking up. That’s a lot here that’s massively positive heading into Thursday Night Football.
