ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into halftime trailing by three points against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, and then they exploded in the third quarter for 17 points to take an 11-point lead en route to a 24-16 win on the road.
Inside linebacker Alex Anzalone picked off Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's pass with 1:22 to go to preserve the Bucs' first win of the season. The fact that it was Anzalone, who has struggled to assimilate into coach Todd Bowles' defense and has faced a ton of criticism for it, put a bow on things after coming into Week 5 as the only winless team in the NFC.
The Bucs hadn't won a Thursday night road game since beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 14, 2021, when Tom Brady was Tampa's QB. On Thursday, undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels made his second straight start at quarterback as Baker Mayfield recovers from a dislocated right thumb that he suffered in Week 3.
The Bucs also ran for 241 yards, led by Bucky Irving's 165 on 21 carries. Irving also ran for a touchdown and caught another.
If there were complaints for the Bucs, it would be Bowles' decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with Sean Tucker's run being stuffed with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter instead of kicking a field goal to go up by 17. That gave Dallas life before Anzalone's interception closed the door. The Bucs also had a staggering 14 penalties, but they capitalized on three Cowboys turnovers.
Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:
Jalon Daniels finished 19-for-25 for 189 yards and a touchdown Thursday. Stacy Revere/Getty Images Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) QB breakdown: Remember that double mug blitz that doomed Daniels and the offensive line on the final drive last week against the Green Bay Packers? The Cowboys showed it on third-and-4 of the Bucs' first possession, and Daniels fired a 6-yard completion to Emeka Egbuka before finding Irving in the flat for a 5-yard touchdown. Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 passing yards and a touchdown. Daniels' arm also came alive with the deep ball -- something we've seldom seen this season from him or Mayfield -- connecting with wide receiver Tez Johnson on a corner route for a 64-yard reception.
Biggest surprise: Heading into this game, Bucs opponents were completing 63.8% of their passes against Bowles' blitzing schemes. But on Thursday night, Prescott started out by completing 2 of 13 passes against the blitz (15.4%) through three quarters. He finished 9-of-20 (45%), but it was too little, too late. In the absence of All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith had arguably his best game, recording five quarterback pressures on seven blitzes. He also bobbled a potential interception that Yaya Diaby ultimately corralled. Cornerback Jacob Parrish had three pass breakups and allowed just one reception, while Zyon McCollum gave up just two.