Pay no attention to that brief span of time in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's Week 5 game when the Cowboys offense came back to life and had fans believing they might actually pull out a miraculous comeback against the winless Buccaneers, their rookie UDFA quarterback, and their hot-seat head coach after one of the most bewildering game-management decisions in recent memory.
No, despite a shocking 99-yard touchdown drive that, improbably, narrowed the margin to just eight points with five and a half minutes still to play, the sloppy, uninspired, and mistake-prone Cowboys team that had been on display for most of the night made a return appearance and sealed the 24-16 final that easily ranks as the most humiliating loss of Brian Schottenheimer's
short tenure.
11 minutes that set the tone
After a crisp nine-play opening drive that put them ahead 7-0, the Cowboys offense literally went M.I.A. That's because the Dallas defense allowed Tampa Bay, behind QB Jalon Daniels — making just his second NFL start — to stay on the field for the next 10:58, eating up 68 yards and ultimately finding the end zone to level the score. During those 15 plays, the Bucs racked up six first downs; two were gifted to them on 3rd-down penalties committed by Cowboys cornerbacks that wiped out stops.
The demoralizing march by the underdog visitors seemed to suck the air right out of AT&T Stadium; the Cowboys offense on their next three possessions went for a total of 24 yards on 13 plays.
By halftime, Dallas had been outpossessed 19:29-10:31 and had converted just a single third down. That they held a 10-7 lead at the break was due only to Tampa Bay's eight penalties in the first half, two of which effectively moved them out of field-goal range late in the second quarter.
A nightmarish 3rd quarter
Unlike Week 4, when the Cowboys came out of halftime looking like a new team, the third quarter was like throwing gasoline on a fire. Tampa Bay drove the ball 86 yards in two plays for a go-ahead touchdown that came 60 seconds into the second half. They would score 10 more points on their next two possessions to go up 24-10. Included in those scoring drives were gains of 72 and 64 yards, by far the longest plays allowed by the Cowboys defense so far this season.
How did Dallas's so-called "GOTI" answer in the third? Interception, fumble, turnover on downs. Eleven offensive plays, 4:36 with the ball, 59 yards gained, zero points.
Along the way, an already-ravaged Cowboys roster saw Alijah Clark, Shavon Revel, and CeeDee Lamb leave the game for at least some period of time in that quarter alone.
The offense's last play of the quarter was particularly fitting: a 4th-and-3 incompletion to Jake Ferguson that gave the ball back to Tampa near midfield.
Bowles lets 'Boys back in
An absolute train wreck of a loss seemed to be a foregone conclusion as the Bucs took the ball and drove to the Cowboys' 1. But rather than kick the chip-shot field goal to extend their lead to an insurmountable three scores, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles inexplicably went for the statement dagger and called a run up the middle. A Dallas stop gave the Cowboys life and gave Dak Prescott the ball with 99 yards to go.
The ensuing 10-play drive put the ball in the hands of six different Cowboys playmakers and ended with George Pickens's first touchdown of the season, but Schottenheimer's decision of his own to attempt a two-point conversion failed. The wisdom of that move can be debated, but the Cowboys would need a defensive stop and another touchdown in any case just to have a chance to see overtime.
They got the first part of the equation by forcing their third three-and-out of the night, and DaRon Bland dropped a surefire pick-six that hit him square in the hands. Prescott and the offense then looked to be off to a promising start on a would-be game-tying drive, but a short pass in Tampa territory that ricocheted off Ferguson with under 90 seconds to play and ended up in the arms of Bucs linebacker Alex Anzalone proved to be the final nail in the Cowboys' coffin.
It wasn't really that close
The foiled rally at game's end and the one-score difference will trick some into thinking that the Cowboys lost a close game. Schottenheimer will no doubt mention how the team is dealing with a lot of injuries and remind everyone that Thursday marked their third game in 12 days after a difficult travel schedule that included a long international flight. He'll talk about how hard his guys battled, even though they're tired and hurting. He'll praise Tampa Bay as a good team who came in better than their 0-4 record might have indicated, with a good coach who's been around a while. He'll say the Cowboys were humbled but promise they'll be able to use the mini-bye to go back to work and get better because of the quality of the men in the locker room.
But the stats show just how thoroughly embarrassing this loss really was.
The defense gave up 24 first downs to a winless team with a rookie UDFA quarterback.
They gave up 419 yards, their most of the season.
They were outrushed 241 to 50.
They gave the ball away four times (fumble, two interceptions, one turnover on downs) and recorded just one takeaway (on downs).
They were outpossessed 39:21 to 20:39, almost a two-to-one ratio.
They got spanked at home and on primetime TV by a team that committed 14 penalties and was slotted near the bottom of the league in every set of power rankings.
This loss will linger for the duration of the Cowboys' extended break before Week 6... and it could have even longer-lasting repercussions within the fanbase and team headquarters.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys' late rally can't cover embarrassing performance in 24-16 loss to Buccaneers
