Eliminated Dallas Cowboys host Tampa Bay Buccaneers

ARLINGTON, Texas — As they do hours before kickoff before every game, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy met in the coach’s office, though there weren’t many words this time.

“It was a down time,” Jones said. “We both looked like we’d lost someone.”

The Cowboys’ playoff chances officially ended when the Washington Commanders beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds, about four hours before Dallas would kick off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Before the game was a real punch in the gut to say the least,” McCarthy said.

Despite knowing their playoff streak would end after three seasons, the Cowboys still managed to beat the Buccaneers, 26-24, to bring their record to 7-8 with their fourth win in their last five outings.

Already without Pro Bowlers Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Trevon Diggs due to injury, the Cowboys were down to their leading tackler, linebacker Eric Kendricks, due to a calf injury that did not resolve in a pregame warmup. In the game, they lost Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for most of the second half after he landed on his injured right shoulder in the first half. They also lost receiver Jalen Tolbert to an open dislocation of his little finger at the end of the first half.

They were outgained by 93 yards, had 10 fewer first downs and had the ball for 5 minutes, 36 seconds less than the NFC South-leading Buccaneers.

Yet they still won.

Cooper Rush threw for a career-high 226 yards in the first half, with a touchdown pass to Tolbert. Ezekiel Elliott scored a 1-yard touchdown on his only carry of the game, giving him 72 in his Cowboys career.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis, playing with an elbow brace, intercepted Baker Mayfield in the end zone in the fourth quarter and DaRon Bland ripped the ball away from Rachaad White for a game-clinching fumble with 1:31 left.

“I love the way our team plays,” McCarthy said. “I just can’t say enough about the locker room. Their pride. Their character. Their toughness. Resilience.”

Jones couldn’t say enough about McCarthy, who could be entering his final two games as coach as he is not under contract beyond this season.

“Proud of those guys, boy,” Jones said. “They wouldn’t give it up out there. So I’m really proud of them and Mike McCarthy, he just won’t let them not think they’re not playing for a Super Bowl out there.”

McCarthy said he did not acknowledge the team’s playoff status until kickoff. He said the interactions between the players weren’t much different than any other game, though he said he said there were one-on-one discussions about the impact of the Washington win.

Rush was driving to AT&T Stadium and listening to the Eagles-Commanders game when he learned the season will end either Jan. 4 or Jan. 5, when the NFL wraps up its Week 18 schedule.

“There’s a lot of players with a lot of wins in that locker room the last three seasons,” Rush said. “So we know what it’s about. We know who we are as competitors, and when you play football, you compete to win.”

The only change McCarthy made was electing to take the ball after winning the coin toss. After his game management meeting on Friday, it was decided to postpone.

“I said, ‘Hey, let’s get the ball and let’s get up and get going and get this going the right way,'” McCarthys says. “So I thought it was good that the offense went out there and got some points on the board.”

Brandon Aubrey gave the Cowboys a 3-0 lead with a 58-yard field goal, his first of three field goals of at least 50 yards in the game. Aubrey’s third field goal gave Dallas a 26-14 lead with 6:33 left in the third quarter. The Buccaneers pulled within 2 points with 2:36 left, but then Bland delivered the Cowboys’ second takeaway to ice the victory.

“There’s a lot of things that have gone into us sitting here, not in the playoffs, and you can start with me,” Jones said. “And I’m not trying to be any other way than a lot of people contribute to it when you win (and) a lot of people contribute to it when you don’t. But boy, you give that kind of effort, that kind of professionalism, they guys came out and played like they were fighting for a championship game to go to a Super Bowl.”

Except the Cowboys won’t. Their Super Bowl drought will stretch to 29 seasons. Still, there is still something to play for with two games to go.

“Everything,” Rush said. “I mean, this is your life. This is ball. This is what you do. You get paid to do it. I don’t think people need much more motivation.”