Cowboys beat Tampa Bay 26-24 as Baker Mayfield and the Bucs lose control of their playoff fate
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“We lost, we fell back in the pack,” coach Todd Bowles said.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Baker Mayfield came home to Texas looking to keep his Tampa Bay Buccaneers on track for the playoffs.
Instead, they’ll need some help.
Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass and Brandon Aubrey kicked two 58-yarders among four field goals Sunday night, boosting the Dallas Cowboys to a 26-24 victory that cost the Bucs control of their playoff fate.
The end of a four-game winning streak left Tampa Bay (8-7) even with Atlanta atop the NFC South with two games remaining. The Falcons have the tiebreaker because they won both meetings with the Bucs, who are on a four-year playoff run.
“We lost, we fell back in the pack,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We’ve got to eat it, can’t spend too much time on it. We had our chances. We’ve got to take care of us and let everything else take care of itself.”
A three-year playoff streak for the Cowboys (7-8) ended when they were eliminated from postseason contention before the prime-time kickoff. Still, Dallas won for the fourth time in five games since a five-game losing streak that put those playoff hopes in peril.
