Irving's 165 rushing yards carry Bucs past Cowboys 24-16

Turning point in Arlington

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned their first victory of the season by beating the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 at AT&T Stadium on Thursday night. Running back Bucky Irving carried 21 times for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass.

Tampa Bay leaned on the run all night, finishing with 241 rushing yards and holding the ball for 39 minutes, 21 seconds. The crowd at AT&T Stadium was 92,351.

Scoring sequence

The Cowboys scored first when Javonte Williams ran in from one yard out in the first quarter, and Brandon Aubrey's kick made it 7-0. Early in the second quarter, rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels hit Irving with a five-yard touchdown pass, and Chase McLaughlin's extra point tied the game.

Aubrey's 41-yard field goal late in the second quarter sent Dallas to halftime ahead 10-7.

The third quarter belonged to Tampa Bay. Emeka Egbuka ran 14 yards for a touchdown, Irving followed with a one-yard scoring run for a 21-10 lead, and McLaughlin added a 41-yard field goal to make it 24-10.

Dallas answered in the fourth quarter when George Pickens caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott with 5:26 left. The two-point pass failed, and the Cowboys' final drive ended on an interception inside Tampa Bay territory.

Statistical standouts

Prescott threw for 316 yards on 24-of-42 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. Pickens had nine catches for 130 yards, and Williams ran for 45 yards on 12 carries. Daniels, an undrafted rookie in his second career start, completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. Tez Johnson caught one pass for 64 yards.

Records

Tampa Bay is now 1-4. Dallas falls to 2-3 with the loss at home.

Sources

ESPN