The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ four-game winning streak came to a sudden halt on Sunday at AT&T Stadium as the Dallas Cowboys pulled out a 26-24 victory. With the loss, the Bucs are no longer in the driver’s seat of their playoff destiny with two regular season games to go in the 2024 docket. The Atlanta Falcons and the Bucs have an 8-7 record with Atlanta holding the head-to-head sweep. For the Bucs, missed tackles, penalties and turnovers decided the team’s fate on the road. Tampa Bay had two giveaways in the second half, including a third quarter interception by Jourdan Lewis that changed the trajectory of the ballgame. Baker Mayfield heaved a deep lob to rookie Jalen McMillan, but Lewis managed to steal the ball away. He fought through the catch point and maneuvered his head around to come away with the ball at the goal line.
With just over two minutes to play, Mayfield led a methodical nine-play, 87-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Ryan Miller 13-yard touchdown at the 2:36 mark. Mike Evans ran a wheel route, drawing coverage away as the decoy. Ryan Miller ran a post route as he angled toward the goal post, and he was left wide open for the score. The Bucs’ defense then managed to stop the Cowboys’ offense from advancing, but Cowboys’ cornerback DaRon Bland took the ball away in a game-sealing turnover.
“We committed way too many penalties and mistakes,” said wide receiver Mike Evans. “They deserved to win today. They played like they were trying to clinch playoffs and we didn’t.”
Offensive Outlook
Baker Mayfield had another outing that displayed his grit. With multiple scrambles for first downs, Mayfield finished the game completing 31 of 43 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and the aforementioned interception at the goal line. The first touchdown of the day came on the ground by Bucky Irving on a two-yard run. On the drive, he showcased his shiftiness by forcing several missed tackles and accelerating downhill after elusive cutbacks. Irving rushed 16 times for 68 yards and a touchdown (4.3 average) and added three receptions for 24 yards, totaling 92 yards from scrimmage. With his seven rushing touchdowns this season, Irving tied Errict Rhett and Lars Tate for the second-most rushing touchdowns by a rookie running back in team history and now trails only Doug Martin (11 in 2012). Against the Cowboys, Irving forced six missed tackles in the first half alone per Next Gen Stats – a season high in a half – and…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…