While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally earned their much-needed first win of the season Thursday night, it won’t matter if they can’t build on it over the next few weeks. 

The Bucs marched into Dallas as 9.5-point underdogs and marched out with a season-saving 24-16 victory to move to 1-4 on the season. 

Behind a career game from running back Bucky Irving, a big night from wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and an impressive showing from undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, Tampa was able to pull off the big upset. 

Now the Bucs have to make sure it matters. 

Normally, starting a season 0-4 would be a death sentence for any NFL team, but the Bucs have the benefit of playing in the NFC South. 

Last season, eight wins were enough to win the division, and it would not surprise anyone if eight wins were enough to win it again this year. 

Through four games, the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons lead the South at 2-2, with the New Orleans Saints sitting at 1-4 after losing to the Vikings. 

In the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

If the Bucs want to have a chance, they have to make a run over the next three weeks. 

As reported by Mason Riney of Bucs Wire, Tampa has three winnable games upcoming that it must take advantage of if it wants to get back in the race for the NFC South. 

In Week 6, the Bucs have a home matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are 3-2 this season but have been inconsistent through five games. 

If Tampa can play as well as it did against the Cowboys, the Bucs have a great chance of winning back-to-back games. 

After playing Pittsburgh, Tampa has two straight games against division rivals. The Bucs go on the road to face the Panthers in Week 7, followed by a home matchup against the Falcons. 

The Panthers and Falcons went into Week 5 tied atop the division at 2-2. Atlanta has a tough matchup Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens, who will be without superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Panthers are on their bye week. 

If the Bucs can take care of business over the next three weeks, especially against their divisional foes, they will be right back in the thick of things for the division. 

Tampa got into the win column by toppling a Dallas team that few believed the Bucs could beat. 

Now they have to make that victory mean something. 

It starts next week against the Steelers, who present another tough challenge. 

Daniels, who earned the first win of his NFL career against the Cowboys in only his second start, is expected to get one more start while Baker Mayfield continues to recover from his dislocated thumb.