How Buccaneers' longest drive in 19 years baffled Cowboys' defense – Sporting News

How Buccaneers’ longest drive in 19 years baffled Cowboys’ defense  Sporting News

The Cowboys hoped Week 5 vs. the Buccaneers would be a pick-me-up game. Their first defensive drive suggested that might not be the case. The Cowboys are one of the NFL's signature brands. Their defense has been anything but in 2026, however. Dallas sports one of the worst defensive units in the league. The numbers bear out that ignominious reputation — the Cowboys entered their Week 5 tilt against the Buccaneers having conceded an average of 28.0 points per game, the fourth-worst mark in football. A matchup with Tampa Bay figured to be a bit of a reprieve. After all, the Buccaneers are without starting quarterback Baker Mayfield. Understudy Jalon Daniels looked shaky in his NFL debut, giving more credence to the suggestion that Dallas would get a pick-me-up on Thursday night.

It only took one drive for onlookers to realize that wouldn't be the case. Here's a look at how the Buccaneers made history at the Cowboys' expense on "Thursday Night Football." MORE: Why Joey Porter Jr. is inactive for Cowboys in surprise decision Daniels and Co. set sights on Dallas' end zone from their own 27. Over the course of the next 15 plays, Todd Bowles side inched its way towards the pylons, employing a "death by 1,000 paper cuts" approach to gash the Cowboys' much-maligned defense. Daniels