The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' four-game winning streak came to a painful end on Sunday night in Dallas, with the Cowboys creating two late turnovers to hold onto a 26-24 decision at AT&T Stadium. That outcome, coupled with the Atlanta Falcons' win over the New York Giants earlier in the day, meant the Buccaneers lost control of their own playoff destiny.

Tampa Bay pulled to within two points on a 13-yard Baker Mayfield touchdown pass to WR Ryan Miller with 2:36 left in the fourth quarter, then got the defensive stop they needed to get the ball back with just under two minutes left. Unfortunately, a remarkable Mayfield pitch play to RB Rachaad White under heavy pressure turned into a disaster when Cowboys CB DaRon Bland was able to rip the ball out of White's hands.

The Buccaneers committed the game's only two takeaways, both in the second half. Trailing by nine points midway through the third quarter, the Bucs appeared to have a shot to get back into the game on Mayfield's deep ball to rookie WR Jalen McMillan, but Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis remarkably wrestled the ball away in midair for an interception. That led to the fourth of Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey's four field goals, ranging from 49 to 58 yards, which ultimately made the difference.

The Buccaneers and Falcons are both now 8-7, and Atlanta holds an ironclad tiebreaker in the NFC South title race thanks to a head-to-head sweep earlier in the season. That means the Buccaneers have to win one more game than the Falcons over the final two weeks in order to capture a fourth straight NFC South title. Tampa Bay will finish with home games against Carolina and New Orleans, while Atlanta will travel to Washington in Week 17 before finishing at home against the Saints.

The Buccaneers fell into a 10-0 deficit in the first quarter and never managed to climb out of it. Dallas took the opening possession for a field goal and the Bucs followed by driving to midfield on their opening drive, but WR Sterling Shepard dropped a wide-open pass on fourth down and the Cowboys took the ensuing possession for a touchdown. Dallas led 23-14 at halftime and held on despite the Buccaneers piling up 411 yards of offense.

The Buccaneers have now lost all four of their prime-time games in 2024, following Monday night losses at home to Baltimore and on the road in Kansas City, plus a Thursday night game in Kansas City. Tampa Bay is 5-3 in road games this year, and Sunday night's outcome marked the first time the team was losing at the end of regulation, given that their other two losses were in overtime.

Mayfield had another strong outing, completing 31 of 41 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and the one contested interception. He found McMillan on an 11-yard scoring strike in the second quarter, the fourth score by the rookie wideout in the last three games, before his connection with Miller in the fourth quarter made it a one-score game. After a team-record four straight games with 150-plus rushing yards the Bucs had another strong game on the ground, gaining 134 yards and averaging 5.8 per tote. Rookie running back Bucky Irving tallied 92 yards from scrimmage and scored his seventh touchdown of the season on a two-yard scamper in the second quarter.

The Buccaneers' defense completely shut down what had previously been a potent Dallas rushing attack, allowing just 31 yards on 20 carries, though Ezekiel Elliott did score from one yard out in the second quarter to give the home team a 20-7 lead. The Cowboys were without star quarterback Dak Prescott but Cooper Rush filled in with one of his best career performances, completing 26 of 35 passes for 292 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a passer rating of 108.3.

The Buccaneers' defense, which had allowed a league-low 15.0 points per game over the past four weeks, was only able to sack Rush once, that one split by OLB Yaya Diaby and DL Calijah Kancey. S Christian Izien led the team with 13 tackles and Lavonte David had eight stops, two of them for a loss. Tampa Bay's defense did not allow a single third-down conversion in six attempts in the second half, but it was too little, too late after allowing five conversions in nine tries in the first half. Overall, Tampa Bay held Dallas to 15 first downs and 317 total yards but gave up too many big plays in the passing game, as the Cowboys averaged 7.9 yards per pass play.

To start the game, the Cowboys won the toss and elected to receive. Following a touchback, Rush started the game with a quick pass over the middle to WR KaVontae Turpin for seven yards. CB Jamel Dean closed quickly on a short pass to Lamb to make it third-and-two, but Rush moved the chains with a short pass over the middle to WR Brandin Cooks. Three plays later, on third-and-two, Rush dumped a short pass off to Lamb on the left sideline to move the sticks again. A screen to Lamb didn't work, losing a loss of one, and a Dowdle run made it third-and-six. A flip out to the left to Dowdle only got one yard, but that was enough to set up K Brandon Aubrey for a 58-yard field goal.

After a touchback, the Bucs' first drive began with a four-yard run over left tackle by White, but a holding call on G Ben Bredeson made it second-and-16. A quick slant to McMillan made it third-and-two, and Mayfield bought time with a scramble to hit TE Payne Durham on a seven-yard strike near the right sideline. Two plays later, a tunnel screen to WR Trey Palmer made it third-and-three at the Dallas 48. Mayfield had trouble getting the snap under control on third down and his attempted out to White was out of reach. The Bucs chose to go for it on fourth down and Mayfield found WR Sterling Shepard wide open over the middle only for the receiver to drop it.

The Cowboys took over on downs at their own 48 and handed it off to Turpin for a 12-yard run up the middle. Rush found Cooks down the left numbers on the next play for a gain of 29 to the Bucs' 11. The Cowboys only got one yard on their next two plays but Rush threw a pass straight down the middle to Jalen Tolbert on third down for a 10-yard touchdown and an early 10-point lead.

After another touchback, Mayfield started the Bucs' second drive with a five-yard dart over the middle to Durham. Two plays later, on third-and-five, White took a swing pass and tried to get the ball to the line to gain but stepped out of bounds a yard short. The Bucs sent out the punting unit and Jack Browning's kick was fair caught at the Dallas 19.

The Cowboys opened their third drive with a false start, followed by a 10-yard dump-off over the middle to Dowdle. That brought the first quarter to an end. After the two teams switched sides, TE Jake Ferguson couldn't hold on to a pass near the first-down line and the Cowboys had to punt for the first time.

The Bucs' next drive began at their own 43 and on the second play Mayfield lobbed it up for Evans down the left sideline for a gain of 26. Another quick pass to Evans got just three and Irving made a quick cut at the line of scrimmage to find a seam for 15 yards to the Cowboys' 10. On first-and-goal, Mayfield tossed it left to the rookie back and he got around the corner for eight yards to the two. On the next snap, Mayfield tossed it right to Irving and he stepped through a tackle to dash into the end zone for the score.

The Cowboys fired right back, with Rush throwing a post to Lamb for a gain of 34 to the Bucs' 36. A two-yard Dowdle run and an illegal motion penalty made it second-and-13, and Dowdle got eight yards on as short pass over the middle. Rush tried to go deep down the left to Lamb on third down and it was overthrown, so the Cowboys sent out Aubrey to hit a 49-yard field goal to make it 13-7 with nine minutes left in the first half.

Two Irving runs between the tackles made it third-and-inches to start the Bucs' next drive, and White powered it over on third down to move the chains. A screen to Irving gained seven, though he was tripped up by LB Nick Vigil just before he could break out into the open field. Irving then went up the gut for seven more to the Dallas 45. A swing pass to Irving got five, but a pass originally ruled a 16-yard completion to McMIllan was reviewed and called incomplete. On third-and-five the pocket collapsed immediately and Mayfield couldn't escape, taking a five-yard sack. The resulting punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

An incompletion and a one-yard Dowdle run made it third-and-nine to start the Cowboys' next drive, but Rush found Tolbert on an out and he was able to stumble past the sticks for a first down. Three plays later, on third-and-four, Rush went over the top and found Lamb down the right sideline for a 52-yard completion to the Bucs' 11 at the two-minute warning. After the break, DL Vita Vea stopped Turpin for no gain, but on the next play Lamb caught a pass over the middle and fought through traffic to make it first-and-goal at the one. Ezekiel Elliott ran it on the next play for a 20-7 Dallas lead with 1:45 left in the half.

Mayfield got the Bucs' next drive off to a quick start with completions of 15 yards to Evans and 20 to Shepard, putting the ball at the Dallas 36. Another quick-hitter to Evans got 15 more down to the 21, and Durham danced on the right sideline for six more, getting out of bounds at the 1:05 mark. An end zone shot to Evans failed but White took a shotgun handoff up the middle and was able to extend over the line for a first down at the 11. On the next play, Mayfield zipped a low pass to McMillan in the end zone and the rookie made a sliding catch to make it 20-14.

Dallas had 48 seconds to work with and got 21 yards on their first play with a pass over the middle to Ferguson, leading to the home team calling its first timeout. A quick slant to Cooks took it down to the Bucs' 34, followed by a second timeout with 37 ticks left. Two plays later, Diaby dropped Rush for a six-yard sack to make it third-and-15 and the Cowboys used their final timeout. After a failed deep shot, the Cowboys sent out Aubrey, who easily nailed another 58-yarder.

Rakim Jarrett got the second half started with a kickoff return out to the 38 and Irving got seven yards up the middle to open the drive. Another four-yard run moved the sticks. A swing pass to White got five and Irving fought through tacklers to make it first down at the Dallas 41. Mayfield then hit Durham for what would have been a nine-yard gain, but he then had to fall on a loose ball after a fumble at the Dallas 38. A well-designed-screen to Irving got 12 down to the 26. A holding call on Luke Goedeke two plays later backed the Bucs up, and then Mayfield was sacked, losing the ball in the process. The Cowboys weren't quite able to corral the loose ball before it went out of bounds, but it was a loss of 17, leading to a third-and-40. Mayfield hit Durham over the middle on third down but a hard hit by Marist Liufau jarred the ball loose. Turpin took his ensuing punt return back to the Dallas 35.

Rush hit WR Ryan Flournoy for a gain of 26 on a deep crosser to start the next drive, getting the ball immediately into Bucs territory. A false start and a Calijah Kancey tackle for loss for one yard made it second-and16, and a screen to Dowdle got 10. Rush was chased into a third-down incompletion, but that just set up Aubrey for a 53-yard chip shot to make it 26-14.

An end-around to Shepard worked for 14 yards to start the next drive, but a deep shot to WR Trey Palmer missed. After a short pass to WR Ryan Miller, the Bucs were forced to call a timeout. After the break, McMillan weaved through traffic on a short pass to get just enough for a first down at the Dallas 46. Two plays later S Donovan Wilson hit Evans just as the ball arrived to prevent a big play downfield, setting up third-and-10. White kept the drive alive with a great run on a screen to the left, getting down to the 29. Two plays later, Mayfield was sacked for a loss of six to make it third-and-15, and another White screen was good for seven. The Bucs sent out Chase McLaughlin to try a 45-yard field goal and he nailed it to make it a nine-point game with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, Rush found Flournoy again over the middle for a gain of 14. The Cowboys faced a third-and-16 moments later and a check down to TE Luke Schoonmaker only got three, leading to a punt. A long punt and a penalty forced the Bucs to start at their own three-yard line with 11:38 remaining.

After a three-yard Irving run, Mayfield pump-faked and ran for 12 yards. He was sacked on the next play but an apparent fumble was overturned on replay review. Irving got nothing on a second-down run, and Mayfield was pressured into a throwaway on third down, leading to a punt.

The Cowboys started again at their 39 and got nine yards on a pass interference call on Jamel Dean, but the Bucs' defense then forced a punt with just under eight minutes left. Palmer fair caught the kick at the Bucs' nine.

Mayfield got the Bucs out of the shadow of their end zone by scrambling left and getting 18 yards. Two incompletions later, on third-and-10, Mayfield stepped up in the pocket and drilled a 27-yard pass to Palmer to the Dallas 46. Mayfield then went over the top to McMillan, and the pass found the rookie receiver, but Lewis somehow wrestled it away on the way to the ground for an interception.

LB J.J. Russell had a shot at an interception on the next play but couldn't hold on. The Bucs forced a punt but not until the clock ticked down to five minutes left, and a penalty on the return put the ball at the Bucs' 13.

Mayfield hit Evans for 10 and White for nine before scrambling 12 yards to the Tampa Bay 48. Durham got out of bounds on a seven-yard grab with 3:10 remaining. McMillan caught consecutive 10 and 16-yard passes, getting out of bounds at the Dallas 19. Mayfield got a six-yard dart to Jarrett and the clock stopped on a Dallas injury. On the next play, Miller got wide open down the left seam and Mayfield hit him for a 13-yard score with 2:36 remaining.

An end-around to Turpin was easily stopped by S Tykee Smith for a loss of one. A short pass to Lamb got five and ran the clock down to the two-minute warning. Rush dropped it off to Ferguson on third down but Vita Vea dropped him two yards short and the Bucs used their last timeout at the 1:52 mark. Palmer returned the ensuing punt to the Bucs' 26.

Mayfield made a remarkable play on first down to get his hand free on a near-sack and flip the ball to White, but the play turned into a Buccaneers disaster when CB DaRon Bland ripped the ball out for a game-ending turnover.