Dallas Cowboys fans inside AT&T Stadium let the players hear it throughout their 24-16 loss Thursday night to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The lack of execution throughout, including on a two-point try late in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys trailed by eight, led to boos as Dallas fell to 2-3 on the season and suffered its second straight home loss.
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It wasn’t just the fans inside the stadium letting the players know how they felt. As players returned to the locker room after the game, a contracted car service driver, who was standing outside the players’ exit at the stadium, said he was “embarrassing” as quarterback Dak Prescott walked by.
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“When he said that, I looked at him, and at that point he looked away,” said Prescott, who noted that the person was not “wrong” in his assessment. “And when I turned my head back, he said something else. And so this is the moment where, as a man or as just a person, don’t hesitate to express what you think – just say it. Don’t shy away from the reaction that you’re going to get.
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“If you say it’s embarrassing, say it’s embarrassing. If you tell me, then tell me. Don’t bring it up. So that’s all that happened, and I hate to even talk about it, to be honest with you.”
The Buccaneers’ victory marked just the sixth time in Cowboys history that they lost to a team with a record of 0-4 or worse.
Prescott added that Thursday night was one of those games on a team’s schedule that they were “supposed to have on paper.”
“I think (head coach Brian Schottenheimer) said it best in the locker room: In this league, you have to win the games you’re supposed to win,” Prescott said. “And when a winless team walks into your stadium in a prime-time game on Thursday night, yeah, we’re supposed to win that.”
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The 16 points are the lowest the Cowboys have scored since Week 3 of last season. They recorded just 50 rushing yards, their lowest since Week 16 in 2024, and allowed at least 20 points for the 12th straight game dating back to last season.
Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards, including 72 yards early in the third quarter, and undrafted quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for a career-high 189 yards in his second NFL start.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said eyes are on defense, but first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker is not in danger of having his play-calling duties reassigned, which Jones called “premature.”
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“Certainly he sits there and takes things on his shoulders, which comes with the territory, but I think he’s competent,” Jones said.
The Cowboys will remain in prime time in their next two games with Sunday night’s Week 6 matchup against the Green Bay Packers before taking on their NFC East rival the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night in Week 7.
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