Cowboys owner Jerry Jones skipped through the tunnel on his way to the locker room, a big smile on his face after the 26-24. He put coach Mike McCarthy in a bear hug in the locker room.
Jones was downright giddy.
“Mike McCarthy, he just won’t let them not think they’re playing for the Super Bowl out there. He won’t let them do it. Proud of that. Proud of the coach,” Jones said.
The Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff. They didn’t talk about it as a team, but they knew it.
Yet, they won anyway against a team that needed to win to stay atop its division.
“There’s many things that have gone into us sitting here not in the playoffs, and you can start with me,” Jones said. “I’m not trying to be any way other than a lot of people contribute to it when you win. A lot of people contribute to it when you don’t. But, boy, give me that kind of effort, that kind of professionalism. Those guys came out and played as if they were fighting in the championship to go to the Super Bowl. I can’t tell you how proud of them and the coaching staff I am. It really shows me something.”
Jones repeatedly praised McCarthy in his five-minute postgame news conference.
McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, but it now seems more likely he returns than it did six weeks ago or six months ago. McCarthy, though, also has a say in his future since he isn’t under contract for 2025.
Jones said he doesn’t have “anything I’d share” about what will transpire at the season’s end in two weeks.
McCarthy is 49-33 in the regular season in five seasons with the Cowboys but only 1-3 in the postseason.
“Mike’s an outstanding coach,” Jones said. “I’m proud that they got rewarded, and the team is playing at that level, because he’s got them coached up to play at that level, even though you realize that when you’re not in those playoffs, you can’t get to the big one, but he’s got this team [playing hard]. That’s as good of an emotional performance, an effort performance that I’ve seen us have. I don’t know what to compare it to.”
The Cowboys should be getting a Christmas card from the Falcons, who got a gift Sunday night.
The Cowboys dominated the Buccaneers start to finish, winning 26-24. They ended Tampa Bay’s four-game win streak and dropped the Bucs into a first-place tie with the Falcons in the NFC South. Both teams are 8-7, and Atlanta holds the tiebreak after sweeping Tampa Bay this season.
The Cowboys, who were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday afternoon, improved to 7-8.
Tampa Bay outgained Dallas 411 to 317 with most of the Bucs’ yards coming late in a hurry-up offense as they tried to rally from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush passed for 292 yards and a touchdown in completing 26 of 35 passes. CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 105 yards, with only one catch for 5 yards coming in the second half after he aggravated his shoulder injury late in the second quarter.
Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 58, 49, 58 and 43 yards.
The Cowboys sacked Baker Mayfield four times, and Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis turned a Bucs touchdown into an interception by stealing the pass from Jalen McMillian in the end zone with 6:22 left. A touchdown would have drawn the Bucs to within 26-24.
The Bucs finally did get that close, but Mayfield’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller came with only 2:36 left on the clock.
Tampa Bay’s last chance ended with 1:31 left when Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland pulled the ball out of Rachaad White’s arms for a fumble recovery after White’s 5-yard reception. Mayfield had avoided a sack to get the ball to White, only to see the game end with White’s third lost fumble of the season.
Mayfield completed 31 of 43 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Mike Evans caught five passes for 69 yards. Bucky Irving had 16 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys were eliminated earlier in the day. They aren’t playing like an eliminated team.
Dallas controlled the first half, outgaining Tampa Bay 243 to 194 to take a 23-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Cooper Rush threw for 226 yards, with CeeDee Lamb catching six passes for 100 yards. Lamb now has 100 receptions for the season after leading the league with 135 last season.
Rush completed 18 of 24 passes, and he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert. He nearly had another one, with replay overturned an 11-yard touchdown to Lamb to a 10-yard reception, setting up Ezekiel Elliott’s 1-yard run with 1:45 left in the half.
Lamb aggravated his shoulder injury on a 52-yard reception but returned a couple of plays later after the Cowboys deemed him questionable to come back.
Dallas scored on five of its six possessions, punting after a three-and-out on the other.
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, the league’s best at what he does, kicked two 58-yard field goals and had a 49-yarder.
The Bucs scored their first touchdown on Bucky Irving’s 2-yard touchdown run. They trailed 20-7 before a seven-play, 71-yard drive to score on Jalen McMillan’s 11-yard touchdown catch with 48 seconds left in the half.
Baker Mayfield completed 14 of 19 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown, with Mike Evans catching four for 59. He needs to average 84 in these final three games to keep his 1,000-yard streak alive.
Irving has eight carries for 47 yards.
Bucs safety Kaevon Merriweather (knee) is questionable to return as is Cowboys offensive lineman Matt Waletzko (knee).
Mike Evans had no catches on the Bucs’ first two drives. He had two on their third drive.
In no coincidence, the Bucs finally are on the scoreboard.
The wide receiver caught a 26-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to set up the Bucs deep on the Cowboys’ end. Four plays later, Bucky Irving was in the end zone on a 2-yard run.
It has drawn the Bucs to within 10-7 of the Cowboys.
Evans, who is trying to keep his 1,000-yard streak alive, has two catches for 29 yards. He entered with 749 yards. Evans has never had fewer than 1,000 yards in a season, with 10 consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards.
Irving has five carries for 31 yards.
The cheers in Atlanta can be heard at AT&T Stadium.
With the Falcons rooting hard for the Cowboys tonight, Dallas has taken a 10-0 lead on Tampa Bay.
The Cowboys opened the game with a 10-play, 30-yard drive that Brandon Aubrey capped with a 58-yard field goal.
The Bucs then stopped the Bucs on their first possession, with a wide-open Sterling Shepard dropping a Baker Mayfield pass that hit him in the hands. The fourth-and-3 play came from the Dallas 48.
Five plays later, the Cowboys were in the end zone.
Cooper Rush threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert with 2:49 left in the first quarter.
The Bucs have a one-game lead on the Falcons for the lead in the NFC South, but the Falcons own the tiebreaker as a result of a sweep of Tampa Bay. So, if the teams tie for the division title, the Falcons win it.
Atlanta beat the Giants 34-7 in rookie quarterback Michael Penix’s starting debut.
The Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day.
