NFL Recap & Results | October 8, 2026
Week 5 opened with the winless list getting shorter. Tampa Bay, 0-4 and starting an undrafted rookie quarterback for the second time, ran for 241 yards, kept the ball for more than 39 minutes, and beat Dallas 24-16 on Thursday Night Football for its first win of the season. The Cowboys, who came in with the league's second-highest scoring offense, committed three turnovers and never led after halftime. Here's how it went down, plus a look at how the card and the season-to-date record held up.
Bucs Run Away From Dallas for Their First Win
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Dallas Cowboys 16
Dallas scored first on a 1-yard Javonte Williams run, but Tampa Bay answered with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that took 10:58 off the clock, with Jalon Daniels going 8-of-8 for 49 yards before Bucky Irving caught a 5-yard touchdown to tie it at 7. Brandon Aubrey's 41-yard field goal with 26 seconds left made it 10-7 Dallas at the half. Then the second half belonged to the Bucs. Irving broke a 72-yard run on the first snap, Emeka Egbuka scored from 14 yards out on a run of his own, and after Daniels hit Tez Johnson for 64 yards on second-and-14, Irving punched in a 1-yard touchdown for a 21-10 lead. Chase McLaughlin's 41-yard field goal made it 24-10.
Bucky Irving ran 21 times for a career-high 165 yards (7.9 per carry) and caught a touchdown, his first career game with two, and his 22-yard run on second-and-12 after Prescott's second interception, a tipped ball in the final two minutes, let Daniels kneel out the win. Daniels finished 19-of-25 for 189 yards with a touchdown, no turnovers, and a 110.3 rating, and Tampa Bay ran 39 times for 241 yards (6.2 per carry) while holding the ball for 39:21 to Dallas's 20:39. The defense picked off Dak Prescott twice, one of them off a pass tipped by Ryan Flournoy and caught by Yaya Diaby, and forced a fumble that Tampa Bay recovered, so the Bucs finished with no turnovers against Dallas's three, even while being flagged 14 times for 92 yards.
Prescott was 24-of-42 for 316 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and Dallas managed only 50 rushing yards on 13 carries. George Pickens caught a touchdown with 5:30 left to finish a 99-yard drive, but Prescott's two-point try fell incomplete and the Cowboys never got closer. CeeDee Lamb, who caught 17 passes a week earlier, was limited to two catches for 9 yards on five targets through the middle of the third quarter, per CBS Sports' game tracker. Dallas also played without cornerback Cobie Durant, and Joey Porter Jr., acquired last week, was a late scratch. Tampa Bay improved to 1-4 despite playing without Baker Mayfield (thumb) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (fractured rib), and Dallas fell to 2-3.
TB 24 · DAL 16
Bucs Finally Get One.
Tampa Bay moves to 1-4 and leaves four winless teams in the league (Tennessee, Houston, Miami, and the Chargers), while Dallas drops to 2-3 after a night when its offense never found a rhythm. Week 5's Sunday slate is next.
Star of the Night: Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay
21 carries | 165 yards | 7.9 per carry | 72-yard run | 1 rushing TD | 1 receiving TD
Jalon Daniels going 8-of-8 on the 10:58 opening drive and finishing without a turnover in his second career start made a case of his own, but Irving's career-high 165 yards, the 72-yard run that set up the go-ahead touchdown, and the 22-yard run that put the game away are the clearer story.
Dud of the Night: Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
24-of-42 passing | 316 yards | 1 TD | 2 INT | 69.1 rating
Dallas's run defense allowing 241 yards and 39:21 of possession was in the conversation, but Prescott's two interceptions in an eight-point loss, in a game where the Cowboys gave the ball away three times to Tampa Bay's none, is the clearer dud.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Thursday's card went 1-for-2: the side cleared and the total missed.
Tampa Bay @ Dallas: The preview leaned Tampa Bay +8.5 (Lean) with the over at 47.5 (Toss-up), noting that every Tampa Bay loss had been by one score while Dallas games had gone 4-0 to the over. Tampa Bay won outright by eight, clearing the number with room to spare and ending the 13-game cover drought the preview cited, but the teams combined for just 40 points, 7.5 short of the total. Tampa Bay's 39:21 of possession and 241 rushing yards kept the clock moving, and Dallas turned the ball over three times and scored only two touchdowns. The side lean cleared; the over lean missed.
By tier: Lean 1-0, Toss-up 0-1.
That opens Week 5 at 1-0 on sides and 0-1 on totals.
Season Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 8:
Spread / Side: 32-31-2
Total (Over/Under): 35-30
The side leans sit at 51%, while the totals sit at 54%. Records read wins-losses-ties, and ties (pushes) are left out of the percentages. We'll keep this tally updated through the rest of the season.
Week 5's Sunday slate is next. We'll have the preview, the cards, and every lean before kickoff.