When the Dallas Cowboys fell to 3-7 this season, the talk of Mike McCarthy’s time as the team’s head coach shifted to the past tense. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that McCarthy would be gone.
A lot has changed in the past five weeks. The Cowboys, without quarterback Dak Prescott since Week 9, have come alive. Cooper Rush, Prescott’s replacement, is playing pretty well. The Cowboys have played like the team they were expected to be heading into the season. And McCarthy might be saving his job, which is remarkable considering where he was a little more than a month ago.
The Cowboys had a good 26-24 win on Sunday night against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that seemed like it was cruising toward an NFC South title and has some high quality wins on its résumé. Dallas outplayed Tampa Bay for most of the game and then held on late when the Bucs rallied. Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland stole the ball from Buccaneers running back Rachaad White right before White was down, and the fumble with 1:26 left sealed the Cowboys’ win. The Cowboys improved to 7-8 with the win, which isn’t great but a lot better than they were in late November.
The Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, before their game ever kicked off. That’s ironic considering they’re finally looking like a playoff team.
QB Cooper Rush has played well since taking over for Dak Prescott as the Cowboys have now won four of their last five games. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Cowboys have a strong outing
If the Cowboys decide to extend McCarthy, it won’t be a popular decision. The Cowboys' fan base is reactionary and has wanted McCarthy out after every playoff disappointment. Retaining him because of a good finish after the Cowboys’ playoff hopes were practically finished will get a lot of criticism.
But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has supported McCarthy publicly lately and the win over the Buccaneers won’t slow him down. McCarthy is in an unusual position because his contract will expire after the season. It’s not a matter of the Cowboys not firing him; they would need to sign him to a new contract and McCarthy would have to want to return as well. But he has put himself in position for that to be a possibility. When the Cowboys were 3-7 and seemingly heading toward at least 11 or 12 losses, it would have been outlandish to even entertain that possibility.
Jones has resisted the urge to give in to overreaction when it comes to McCarthy and might do so again. McCarthy is 49-33 as Cowboys head coach. He also has a career winning percentage above 60 with a Super Bowl ring when he was with the Packers. For all of the grief McCarthy gets, his record is pretty strong. And the Cowboys playing well lately looks good on him.
The Cowboys’ resurgence has happened due to a defense that improved greatly when Micah Parsons returned from injury, and the solid play of Rush. Rush had 226 yards and a touchdown in the first half against the Buccaneers. Dallas scored the first 10 points of the game and led 23-14 at halftime.
Neither offense was as explosive in the second half. But the Cowboys held a comfortable lead, at least until the final minutes.
Buccaneers fall back into tie with Atlanta
Trailing by nine points, Mayfield led a quick scoring drive, getting 87 yards in a little more than two minutes. He hit Ryan Miller for a 13-yard touchdown, and there was plenty of time for the Buccaneers to get a stop and get the ball back, trailing 26-24.
The Buccaneers got a three-and-out. The Cowboys punted and the Buccaneers took over at their own 26-yard line, with 1:40 remaining in the game needing a field goal to win. But Bland stripped White of the ball and that ended Tampa Bay’s comeback hopes.
The Buccaneers’ playoff outlook changes with the loss. They battled to overtake the Falcons for first place of the NFC South, but lost control of the division on Sunday night. Both teams are tied at 8-7 atop the standings. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head sweep. Atlanta, which looked better Sunday with rookie Michael Penix Jr. taking over at quarterback, takes the division if it wins its final two games.
The Cowboys have won four of their past five games, and the one loss was competitive against a talented Cincinnati Bengals team. Dallas would be happy to pick up where it’s leaving off this season. That might require the Cowboys bringing their coach back. That might not be the most popular move, but with every strong performance it’s looking more possible.
Live28 updates
Yahoo Sports Staff
Dallas has won four of its last five games after this thriller over Tampa Bay
A crazy finish puts Tampa Bay up against a wall. The Bucs will need some help — in the form of a Falcons loss in one of their last two games — and to beat both New Orleans and Carolina to close their season to win the NFC South.
Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day and after its current hot streak, it's a reminder that if the Cowboys could have done anything at home at the beginning of the season when they were getting blown out regularly, they could have found themselves in the mix down the stretch.
Bucs come up with a stop and force a Dallas punt with just under two minutes to play
Baker Mayfield will have one last shot to get Tampa Bay in field goal range after the Bryan Anger punt and the Trey Palmer punt return that sets Tampa Bay up at the 26 yard line.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Baker Mayfield leads a quick TD drive to keep the Bucs in it
Nine plays, 87 yards and a touchdown pass to Ryan Miller, and its now a two-point game with 2:43 to go. The Bucs have two timeouts remaining, Mayfield is up to 298 passing yards for the game on 30-of-42.
Baker to Ryan Miller! And the Bucs are still alive.
Jourdan Lewis with a spectacular interception on the goal line
Baker Mayfield tried to push the ball down the field to Jalen McMillan, but Lewis made agruably the play of the night to stymie the Bucs drive, and put a huge dent in their comeback chances — and perhaps playoff chances.
Buccaneers get on the board again with a field goal
Tampa Bay picked up a couple of third down conversions, but the Bucs were unable to pick up a 3rd and 15 after a second down sack. The drive was highlighted by the chess match between Cowboys' defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Bucs' offensive coordinator Liam Cohen. Tampa wound up in a couple of 3rd and long situations after clever blitz and coverage disguises confused Baker Mayfield, before a couple of 3rd down conversions on screen passes.
The Bucs are still down by nine, and will need touchdowns if they're going to keep control of the NFC South.
This time from 53, that's an NFL record for the most 50+ yard field goals in a season, he's now got 14 — including three tonight. Dallas is now up 26-14.
Marist Liufau lights up Payne Durham to end Bucs drive
It was a 3rd and 40 — yep, you read that right — after a bouncing fumble rolled out of bounds on a second down to set up a third and forever. Liufau brought the wood to Payne to separate him from the ball to cause the incompletion. Who says there aren't any big hits in the NFL anymore?
Yahoo Sports Staff
Brandon Aubrey from 58 AGAIN to close the half
Dallas hits the half ahead 23-14 and Brandon Aubrey is putting on a show again. The Bucs will get the ball first to open the second half, after an entertaining first half, in which the teams combined for 437 yards and 23 first downs. Even more points could be flying in the second half, if the Buccaneers can cut down on some dropped passes.
Big hitters to Jake Ferguson and Brandin Cooks have Dallas in Brandon Aubrey's field goal range after just two plays.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Baker Mayfield hits Jalen McMillian for six
The Bucs offense found rhythm again on this drive at the end of a now high-scoring first half, as the Cowboys lead 20-14 with less than a minute to go in the second quarter.
Ezekiel Elliott cashes in for Dallas, which goes up by two touchdowns
It's his 71st rushing touchdown for Dallas. He's on the back 9 of his career, but it's still great fun for Cowboys fans to see Zeke eat. Dallas leads 20-7 as the game approaches halftime.
Dallas shuts down the Tampa Bay march with just over five minutes to go in the first half
The Dallas defense has bowed up for most of the first half against the Bucs. Tampa does have the one scoring drive, but other than that it's been tough sledding for Baker Mayfield an company.
Dallas drive stalls — in perfect position for another Brandon Aubrey field goal
This one was an easy chip shot, just 49 yards 🙄, for his 34th field goal of the season. He's not leading the NFL in percentage, but of those 34 makes, 25 of them have now come from 40+ yards (He's 25-of-29) in 2024.
Cowboys lead, 13-7
Yahoo Sports Staff
Looks like the haymakers are starting to fly. 34 yards to CeeDee Lamb on first down
Lamb now has four catches and 38 yards after his first big one of the night.
THAT looked like one of the NFL's best offenses and Bucky Irving closed the deal for the Bucs with a 2-yard TD rush, his seventh on the ground this season. Dallas still leads, 10-7, with 11:30 left in the first half.
Dallas has looked great in the first quarter, and Tampa Bay's offense hasn't been able to get out of first gear. The Buccaneers scored 40 points in a blowout win over the Chargers last week, but have just 41 yards and one first down in the first quarter in Dallas tonight. Also, the Cowboys have the ball and are looking for the three-score lead as the second quarter gets underway.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Cooper Rush hits Jalen Tolbert for the Dallas touchdown
This was an absolute dot from Rush, and the Cowboys are up 10-0 early, after cashing in on the turnover on downs.
A Sterling Shepard drop ended a steady drive around midfield. It was a stone cold drop, and he was WIDE open. Dallas has to like the result, but how they got there will need a defensive adjustment. If Tampa Bay receivers are going to be that open all night, it might be a long one for the Cowboys defense.
Despite the drop, Shepard may have started the game with one of the best SNF intros of all-time.
Cooper Rush is off to a hot start as the Cowboys take a 3-0 lead
The Cowboys' QB hit his first six passes to have Dallas on the move early vs. Tampa Bay, and Brandon Aubrey closed the drive with a 58-yard field goal. He's now 12-of-14 on the season from 50+ yards this year.
The Bucs are 3rd in the NFL in yards per game, and Dallas has had some big trouble on defense at home this season, winning just once in seven home games.
