Coming off a fourth-consecutive loss the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t have time to dwell on the fact their last 10 games, dating back to last season, have been decided by one score and they only have two wins during that span to show for it. 

Instead, the Buccaneers (0-4) will try to get their first win of the season on a short week and on the road against the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) at 8:15 p.m. ET on Oct. 8 at AT&T Stadium. 

Playing on Thursday has not been kind to Tampa Bay in recent years. The Buccaneers have not won a Thursday game since 2021—a 28-22 win at Philadelphia—and have lost four in a row. Overall Tampa Bay is 5-12 on Thursday. Compounding the Thursday struggles, undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels will make his second straight start as Baker Mayfield continues to recover from a dislocated thumb.

In his first-career start against a depleted Green Bay Packers defense last week, Daniels completed 63.3 of his passes, but threw for just 148 yards, a touchdown and two first-half interceptions.

Against the Cowboys, Daniels will make his first start as a quarterback in primetime and will face another struggling defense. The Dallas defense was a popular pick as one of the most improved units in the offseason but through the first four games, opposing offenses have had plenty of success, averaging 6.4 yards per play. The Cowboys are No. 30 in total yards allowed (389.5 yards per game), No. 24 against the pass (239.3 ypg), No. 31 against the run (150.3 ypg) and No. 28 in points allowed (27.3 points per game). 

With Daniels under center Tampa Bay rushed for 141 yards as a team against the Packers and come into the Cowboys matchup averaging more than 100 yards rushing per game, but are No. 3 in the NFL in turnovers with nine. 

The highlight matchup of the night will be between the Buccaneers’ secondary and Cowboys’ standout wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. 

The Buccaneers do boast a top-10 ranking against the pass on the season (allowing 204.3 ypg) but the Cowboys will counter with a top-10 passing attack (258 ypg) led by quarterback Dak Prescott. 

Through the first month of the season Lamb has been the NFL’s best wide receiver. He leads the league in yards (498), receptions (37) and is third in receiving touchdowns (4). Lamb is also averaging 13.5 yards per reception and has a success rate of 69.6 percent. In their comeback win against the Houston Texans last week, Lamb had 17 receptions on 21 targets for 189 yards and caught the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds left in the game. Pickens has just 18 receptions but is averaging 12.5 ypr and has a success rate of 50 percent.

Cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish have had solid starts to the season, but the Buccaneers are dealing with injuries in the secondary as safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss time with a rib injury and backup cornerback Benjamin Harrison has been dealing with a quad injury. As a team the defense is allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 65.6 percent of their passes and have compiled a 94.7 passer rating.

The Cowboys lead the all-time series 14-6 and have won the last two matchups with the Buccaneers, including a 26-24 win in their last meeting in 2024. Tampa Bay’s last win against the Cowboys came in a 19-3 victory in 2022 in Dallas.

The Cowboys are 8.5-point favorites and the point total for the game is 47.5.