Oct. 9, 2026
Thursday night takeaways: Todd Bowles coached for his job, and won it for a week
Everybody had Bowles fired by Halloween. Thursday night he called the best game of his season in Dallas, and he did it the old-fashioned way.
He protected the rookie
- Tampa's undrafted quarterback threw it 25 times. That's it. Bowles didn't ask the kid to win the game, he asked him not to lose it.
- He went 19 of 25 with a touchdown and no picks. That's a coach putting his quarterback in position, not hanging him out to dry.
He ran it down their throats
Rushing: Buccaneers carries 39, Cowboys carries 13
- 39 carries, 241 yards, 6.2 a pop. Tampa held the ball 39 minutes and Dallas watched from the sideline.
- The third quarter decided it: down 10-7 at the half, Tampa scored 17 straight on a 14-yard Emeka Egbuka run, a 1-yard plunge and a field goal.
His defense did the rest
- Two picks, 10 passes broken up, four hits on Dak. Classic Bowles, send pressure and make the quarterback decide early.
- Dallas turned it over three times and ran the ball 13 times all night.
What it means
- One win doesn't save a job, but it buys a week, and this is how you earn the next one. Tampa's 1-4.
- Dallas is 2-3, and Vinny's not taking calls.