Cowboys Overcome a ‘Real Punch in the Gut’ to Stun Buccaneers

Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catches a pass in front of Daron Bland of the Dallas Cowboys for a first down at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 22. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

After the Washington Commanders took a wrecking ball to the NFC playoff chase, the Dallas Cowboys had to find new motivation before a Sunday night showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Washington (10–5) eliminated the Cowboys (7–8), Arizona Cardinals (7–8), San Francisco 49ers (6–9), and New Orleans Saints (5–9) on Sunday afternoon with a 36–33 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles (12–3).

“Before the game was a real punch in the gut, to say the least,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after his team’s 26–24 win over the Buccaneers (8–7).

Dallas looked like a team on a mission at home despite the elimination from playoff contention. The Cowboys jumped out a 10–0 lead in the first quarter and held a double-digit lead for most of the game.

“I said, ‘Hey, let’s take the ball and let’s get up and get going and get this thing started the right way,’” McCarthy said. “So I thought it was good the offense went out there and got some points on the board.”

Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush summarized his team’s motivation as playing for “everything” after he threw for 292 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-35 passing. Rush has been starting for the past seven weeks in place of the injured Dak Prescott.

“I mean this is your life. This is ball. This is what you do. You get paid to do it,” Rush told reporters. “I don’t think people need much more motivation.”

Rush has a two-year, $5 million deal with the Cowboys, but he can become an unrestricted free agent in March. His play could lead to a bigger payday either with the Cowboys or elsewhere in 2025.

Rush is far from the only backup Cowboys player looking to make a splash as the regular season winds down. Dallas has dealt with a pile of injuries to key players in addition to Prescott: defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, linebacker Erick Kendricks, cornerback Trevon Diggs, and offensive lineman Zach Martin.

“There’s a lot of players with a lot of wins in that locker room the last three seasons,” Rush said. “So we know what it’s about. We know who we are as competitors and when you’re playing football, you’re competing to win.”

While the Cowboys season will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020, owner Jerry Jones expressed his satisfaction with his team’s efforts on Sunday. The franchise known as “America’s Team” made the most of its third-to-last game of the 2024 season.

“There’s many things that have gone into us sitting here not in the playoffs and you can start with me,” Jones told reporters. “And I’m not trying to be any way other than a lot of people contribute to it when you win [and] a lot of people contribute to it when you don’t.

“But, boy, you give that kind of effort, that kind of professionalism, those guys came out and played as if they were fighting for a championship game to go to a Super Bowl.”

Twice the Buccaneers stormed back in the second half to make it a one-score game. Cowboys cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and Daron Bland stepped up with turnovers down the stretch to preserve the lead.

“I just love the way our team plays,” McCarthy said. “I just can’t say enough about the locker room. Their pride. Their character. Their toughness. Resiliency.”