On Thursday Night Football in Week 5, the Cowboys badly need a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thankfully, if history means anything, Tampa Bay has been one of Dallas' least threatening opponents.
If this game follows suit, then the Cowboys should be feeling good for the long break after. Let's take a look at the history between these two franchises ahead of their early meeting during the 2026 NFL season.
Cowboys lead Buccaneers 17-6 in all-time series
Including a 3-0 record in playoff games, Dallas has dominated Tampa Bay more than just about any other team. The only team they have a higher all-time winning percentage against is the Carolina Panthers, but they're also 0-2 against the Panthers in the postseason.
The Buccaneers joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 and had their first game against the Cowboys in 1977. That was hardly a fair fight: the '77 Cowboys crushed them 23-7 and won the Super Bowl a few months later.
Even as Dallas declined in the mid-to-late 80s, they kept on beating the Bucs. The Cowboys were 8-0 against Tampa after the 1990 season, which included two wins in the postseason. The 1981 Cowboys, led by Tony Dorsett's 154 total yards, walloped the Bucs 38-0 in an NFC Divisional Playoff game.
Due to scheduling anomalies, Dallas and Tampa did not play each other once between 1991 and 1999. When they finally reconnected in 2000, the Cowboys were falling apart, while the Bucs had built a contender. Tampa won three games over Dallas from 2000 to 2003, led by the likes of Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and others who won the Super Bowl in 2002.
Once Bill Parcells and Tony Romo got the Cowboys back to respectability, the wins over the Bucs returned. From 2006 to now, Dallas has gone 9-3 in the series. That 2006 meeting was very memorable: Romo's first Thanksgiving game in which he threw five touchdowns. That was arguably the game that sent "Romo-mentum" into full steam and locked him in as Dallas' QB of the future.
Signature Moment: Dallas ends Tom Brady's career in 2022 playoffs
Before the Cowboys met the Bucs in the 2022 playoffs, QB Tom Brady had a perfect 7-0 record against Dallas over his long career. While most of that came from his time with New England, Brady picked up two more regular-season wins in 2021 and 2022. That 2022 season opener was an embarrassing 19-3 loss for the Cowboys at home.
The Bucs and Cowboys came back together in the first round of the playoffs that year, this time in Tampa Bay. In a stunning result, Dallas went off for a 31-14 victory. Dak Prescott threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for a fifth score.
Brady was still Brady, going for 351 yards and two scores himself. But it wasn't with his typical efficiency, only completing 53% of his passes and throwing a pick to safety Jayron Kearse. It was Brady's first red zone INT in 410 attempts, an NFL record. Tampa gave its legendary QB every chance to carry them, with Brady throwing 66 passes in the game (four shy of the NFL record).
That February, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. While the Cowboys did not achieve their ultimate goals that season, making sure Brady didn't get a hero's exit from the league was its own sweet reward.
Last Time Around: Cooper Rush does it again in 2024
In Week 16 of 2024, the Cowboys' season was nearing a merciful end. They were 6-8 and had just been eliminated from the playoff race. Dak Prescott had been out nearly two months with a season-ending leg injury. Meanwhile, Tampa was 8-6 and on its way to eventually winning the NFC South and making the playoffs.
But like many teams had found out before Tampa Bay, you never sleep on Cooper Rush. Dallas' backup QB had 292 yards and a touchdown, helped greatly by CeeDee Lamb's seven catches for 105 yards, as the Cowboys upset the Bucs 26-24.
The Cowboys' defense also chipped in, getting to Bucs' QB Baker Mayfield for four sacks. CB Jourdan Lewis had a key play with an interception on a would-be touchdown, ripping the ball away from WR Jalen McMillan.
The win would be Rush's last in Dallas, as he left for Baltimore the following spring in free agency. He finished his QB2 run for the Cowboys with an impressive 9-5 record.
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