Bucs’ playoff hopes take a hit with heartbreaking loss to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — Baker Mayfield returned to Texas to keep his Tampa Bay Buccaneers on track for the playoffs. Instead, they will need help.

Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass and Brandon Aubrey kicked two 58-yard drives on four field goals Sunday night, propelling the Dallas Cowboys to a 26-24 victory that cost the Bucs control of their fortunes in playoffs.

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 have been in the playoffs for four years.

“We lost, we fell behind,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We have to eat it, we can’t spend too much time on it. We had our chances. We need to take care of ourselves and let everything else take care of itself.

A three-year playoff streak for the Cowboys (7-8) ended when they were eliminated from the playoffs before the prime-time kickoff. Still, Dallas won for the fourth time in five games since a five-game losing streak that put its playoff hopes in jeopardy.

Dallas’ hopes officially ended about four hours before the game when Washington scored in the final seconds to beat Philadelphia.

“There hasn’t been a lot of discussion about it,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I made this point before the game: ‘Just play like we always play.’ We’ve played some really good football the last four or five weeks. Let’s fix this thing.’

Mayfield, the former Texas high school star playing not far from his Heisman Trophy-winning years at Oklahoma, was in position to lead a rally from a nine-point deficit late when he fumbled a sack and sent the ball to Rachaad White in the final. two minutes.

DaRon Bland ripped the ball out of White’s hands before the Tampa Bay running back hit the ground at the Bucs 32, allowing the Cowboys to run out the clock.

Mayfield threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns, including a 13-yarder to Ryan Miller that brought the Bucs within two with 2:36 to play.

The Bucs got the ball back with 1:40 left, but the next play was Bland’s biggest, forcing his first turnover in an injury-plagued season a year after cornerback set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns.

Julio Cortés/AP

White initially carried the ball in one hand away from his body after getting it from Mayfield before shooting it into his body and Bland moved closer.

“He had both hands on the ball, obviously you have to be careful,” Mayfield said. “The same thing happened to me earlier in the match. They made some plays when it counted. It’s all about the ball, and they did well to get it back.

The Cowboys looked in firm control when Jourdan Lewis stripped the ball from Jalen McMillan for an interception at the Dallas goal line on a deep throw with about six minutes remaining.

Dallas failed to get a first down after that turnover, and again after the Bucs got within two. But the defense was still effective.

“When we had to do it with the takeaways in the fourth quarter, it was remarkable, just to see the rebound,” McCarthy said.

A Tampa Bay defense that allowed an NFL-low 15 points during the winning streak struggled to slow down Rush and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had a 100-yard first half for the second week in a row.

Lamb, who battled a right shoulder injury for most of the season, struck hard again on a 52-yard catch in the second quarter. After going to the bench, Lamb came back for an underneath catch and worked his way inside the 1-yard line to set up Ezekiel Elliott’s diving pass for a 20-7 Dallas lead.

Lamb finished with 105 yards after having 100 before the break, a week after totaling 105 yards in the first half, and 116 total, in a 30-14 victory at Carolina. Rush threw for 292 yards with a 10-yard touchdown to Jalen Tolbert in the first quarter.

Mayfield needed less than a minute to complete his 11-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan in the final minute of the first half, but the Cowboys responded with Aubrey’s second 58-yard field goal of the last game before the break for a 23. -14 lead.

“I’ve always said, this group won’t stop,” Mayfield said. “That’s the standard we’re trying to set.” It would be nice to not have to be in this situation if we took care of business earlier in the game.