The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked as though they were close to pulling off a stunning come-from-behind win on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, but a brutal fumble committed by running back Rachaad White off a pass from Baker Mayfield foiled that scenario from playing out.
Tampa Bay was down by nine points with under five minutes left in regulation and that deficit was cut down to two points following Mayfield’s 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Miller and the ensuing extra-point kick from Chase McLaughlin.
The Bucs’ stop unit then stepped up and forced the Cowboys to punt with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Buccaneers failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity to go on a game-winning drive, as White lost possession of the ball that was ripped from his hands by Cowboys defensive back DaRon Bland.
Mayfield shared his thoughts on that turnover that doomed the Buccaneers.
“He had two hands on the ball, obviously you’ve got to be careful,” Mayfield said after the 26-24 loss to Dallas about White’s fumble, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “The same thing happened to me earlier in the game. They made some plays when it mattered. It’s all about the ball, and they did good taking it away.”
Mayfield also had a big blunder in the Cowboys game, as he threw an interception earlier in the fourth quarter when the Bucs were down by nine points. Overall, the former Oklahoma Sooners star went 31-for-43 for 303 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also taking four sacks for a loss of 27 yards versus Dallas. White, meanwhile, recorded 10 rushing yards on three carries and 50 receiving yards on seven targets and eight targets.
The Buccaneers no longer have full control of their NFL playoff destiny
Tampa Bay’s loss to the Cowboys came on the same day that the Atlanta Falcons defeated the New York Giants, which resulted in identical 8-7 records for the two NFC South division franchises. The Falcons, however, have the tiebreaker over the Bucs, as Atlanta has two wins over Tampa Bay this season. In other words, the Buccaneers need Atlanta to lose at least one game in the next two weeks to have a chance of making the NFL playoffs.
The Bucs have the Carolina Panthers up next in a home game in Week 17.
