To start the game in Dallas, the Cowboys won the toss and elected to receive. After a slow start by Dallas, the Bucs got the ball and after a ball intended for wide receiver Bobo Wilson was tipped, Donovan Olumba recorded a pick-six on quarterback Ryan Griffin. The Cowboys missed the point after as they took an early 6-0 lead.
With just under four minutes to go in the first quarter, Dallas started their drive only to have outside linebacker Shaq Barrett strip sack quarterback Mike White and have inside linebacker Jack Cichy recover it. After a fresh set of downs due to a Dallas penalty, Griffin hit Tanner Hudson for the touchdown on third down. Rookie kicker Matt Gay hit the extra point and gave the Bucs a 7-6 lead over the Cowboys with 2:44 left in the first quarter.
The Bucs' drive at the start of the second quarter was stalled as wide receiver Scotty Miller attempted to make the catch on a ball that was a little too far ahead of him. The result was a tipped pass that Dallas again intercepted.
Halfway through the second quarter, Griffin was done and quarterback Vincent Testaverde Jr. took over. His first drive would end after a third-down pass attempt sailed over Hudson's hands, forcing the Bucs to punt.
After Dallas safety Donovan Wilson intercepted a pass from Testaverde, the Cowboys were able to capitalize in the form of a pretty ugly 32-yard field goal, giving Dallas a 9-7 lead with just over a minute left in the half.
The Bucs' first points of the second half would come at the foot of rookie kicker Matt Gay, who booted a 53-yard field goal to give the Bucs back the lead, 10-9, with 10:46 left in the third quarter.
Later in the third, after an eight-play, 61-yard drive that ate up 4:37 of clock, running back Bruce Anderson punched it in from a yard out. Kicker Cairo Santos converted the point after and the Bucs took a 17-9 lead.
In the Cowboys' first drive of the fourth quarter, linebacker Corey Nelson forced a fumble as the Buccaneers recovered it in the end zone. They wouldn't be able to capitalize but took away a Dallas possession in the process.
Late in the fourth quarter, Cowboys receiver Jalen Guyton broke loose after a short catch, taking it in for a 69-yard touchdown. Down 17-15, Dallas Head Coach Jason Garrett signaled for a two-point play which the Cowboys would not convert.
The Buccaneers wasted some clock but gave the ball back to Dallas for one last try. The Cowboys were unable to do anything with it after Lukas Denis intercepted a hail mary pass, leaving the score 17-15 in favor of the Bucs.
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