The Dallas Cowboys (6-8) will host one of the NFL’s most high-powered offenses on Sunday night when they take on Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6).
The game at AT&T Stadium will be Dallas’ sixth prime time appearance this season.
Here are five things you need to know about the Cowboys’ next opponent.
Bucs are in good hands
Baker Mayfield resurrected his career with the Buccaneers, and on Sunday night the entire nation will see why his name is next to Tom Brady’s, at least in the Bucs’ record books. The Tampa Bay quarterback has 32 touchdowns so far this season. Only the Bengals’ Joe Burrow (36) and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (34) have more. In his game last week against the LA Chargers, Mayfield had an epic performance by throwing four touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes for 288 yards. He’s now one of three Buccaneers quarterbacks, along with Jameis Winston and Brady, to throw for 30 or more touchdowns in a season. Mayfield has hit the 30-touchdown mark for the first time in his career, with the next closest coming last year when he threw 28. In his first season with the Browns (2018), Mayfield threw 27 touchdown passes but could never replicate that number while playing in Cleveland. Mayfield has 3,617 yards on the season (fourth in the league) with 328 completions on 463 attempts. His 70.8 completion percentage is third-best in the NFL, behind Tua Tagovailoa (73.7) and Jared Goff (71.4). Mayfield’s downside is his 14 interceptions, the second-worst mark in the league behind the 15 interceptions thrown by Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins.
Scoring machine
The Cowboys’ defense will have a lot of work to avoid succumbing to the scoring machine that Tampa Bay has become. The Bucs have scored 47 touchdowns on the season to rank fifth in the league in that category. Under offensive coordinator Liam Coen, the Buccaneers are averaging 388.4 yards per game. Only the Lions (403.9) and Ravens (424.1) are averaging more. The Buccaneers have averaged an impressive 457 yards in their last three games, more than any other team in the league. Tampa Bay’s explosive passing statistics sound even more remarkable, considering that it is far from the team that attempts the most passes per game. The Buccaneers throw the ball 33.1 times on average (15th in the league). In contrast, the Browns (39 passes) and Cowboys (38.5) are the two teams that attempt the most passes per game. Tampa Bay’s best receiver is Mike Evans, who has 749 yards (27th in the league) with 52 passes caught and nine for touchdowns.
Defense not responding
The Buccaneers’ weakness is their defense. Tampa Bay allows 368.5 yards per game (28th in the league) and has allowed 34 touchdowns. The passing defense is third worst in the NFL, allowing 254.1 yards per game. The Bucs’ secondary has been burned for 21 touchdowns, only the Panthers and Jaguars have allowed more touchdown passes (24). The Buccaneers’ rushing defense allows 115.2 yards per game (11th in the league). An explosive offense is a good thing to have to offset the 23.8 points Tampa Bay’s defense allows per game (22nd in the league). In the red zone, the Buccaneers’ defense has a touchdown rate of 51% (10th best in the league).
The man in charge
Todd Bowles is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the NFL, and that opened the door for him to be named head coach of the Buccaneers after the retirement of Bruce Arians at the end of the 2021 season. In Super Bowl LV, Bowles’ defense held the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense without a touchdown, the third time in Super Bowl history that this happened. In 2021, Bowles’ defense led the NFL in quarterback hits, was third in rush defense, and was fifth in fewest points per game allowed. In 2022, Bowles led the Buccaneers to the NFC South title in his first year as the head coach in Tampa Bay, joining Jon Gruden as the only coaches in franchise history to accomplish that feat in their first season. Over his first two seasons, Bowles accomplished a feat that no one else has through their first two years as Buccaneers head coach, leading the team to consecutive playoff appearances and consecutive NFC South division titles. Bowles joined the Buccaneers after spending the previous four seasons as the head coach of the New York Jets (2015-18). Bowles still acts as the Bucs defensive coordinator.
One-sided rivalry
The Cowboys-Buccaneers “rivalry” has been played 22 times (including three postseason games), with Dallas winning 16 games. Dallas has won three of the last five meetings against Tampa Bay. The last time the Buccaneers visited AT&T Stadium was on Sept. 11, 2022. On that occasion, Tampa Bay beat Dallas 19-3. That was also a Sunday night game. The Buccaneers have played the Cowboys twice on Sunday Night Football and have a 1-1 record. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first Sunday Night Football game was on Sep 23, 1990, against the Detroit Lions. The Buccaneers managed a 23-20 win. The Buccaneer’s last Sunday Night Football game was played on Dec 25, 2022, against the Arizona Cardinals, where they scored a 19-16 win. Tampa Bay’s record on Sunday Night Football is 9-15.
