Bucky Irving gave Jalon Daniels a remarkably generous working arrangement Thursday. The backup quarterback protected the ball, the running back did the heavy lifting, and Tampa Bay beat Dallas 24-16 at AT&T Stadium.
Jalon Daniels, making his second career start, completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He did not need to be spectacular. His interception-free passing complemented an offense that also gained 241 yards on the ground. Dallas needed to interrupt that partnership and could not do it often enough.
Irving handled the difficult portion.
The Buccaneers’ opening touchdown drive lasted 15 plays and 10:58, covering 73 yards. Daniels contributed a 5-yard scramble early, later added a 6-yard run, completed a 10-yard pass to Cade Otton and found Chris Godwin for 14 yards. Those plays kept Tampa moving, but they were hardly the sort of high-wire throws that force a young quarterback to dictate the evening.
At the goal line, Daniels delivered a 5-yard touchdown pass to Irving.
That arrangement suited Tampa perfectly because Irving was running through the middle of Dallas’ defense with alarming regularity. He finished with 165 yards on 21 carries, averaging 7.9 yards per attempt, and added the receiving touchdown. The most damaging carry came immediately after halftime: Irving started Tampa’s possession at its own 14 and ran 72 yards, reaching the Cowboys’ 14.
On the very next play, Emeka Egbuka ran 14 yards for a touchdown.
In one minute of second-half action, Dallas’ 10-7 lead became a 14-10 deficit. Irving created the emergency, and Egbuka finished the job. Dallas had surrendered an enormous gain without even requiring Daniels to throw. There are few better ways to lighten a backup quarterback’s workload.
Daniels still earned credit for completing the throws Tampa needed. After Yaya Diaby intercepted Dak Prescott in the third quarter, Daniels connected with Tez Johnson for 64 yards on the ensuing possession. Irving followed with three carries gaining 9, 5 and 1 yards, the last one producing a touchdown.
The long completion mattered because it complemented Irving’s work. Dallas could not simply crowd the line and assume Daniels would be forced to win the game through the air.
The Cowboys had chances to make him uncomfortable. On Tampa’s first drive, Daniels appeared to lose 12 yards on a sack, but the play was erased when Dallas was penalized for defensive holding. A third-quarter sack later cost Daniels 11 yards. That was a real disruption, just not a continuing one. Tampa finished with 419 yards, 24 first downs and 39:21 of possession.
The Buccaneers’ 14 penalties for 92 yards created openings Dallas failed to exploit. Tampa was hardly clean, yet its offense ran 65 plays and committed no turnovers. Daniels’ restraint mattered as much as Irving’s explosiveness because it prevented Dallas from turning Tampa’s mistakes into control of the game.
