Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 09 Dallas Cowboys 14
Post-strike play resumed in a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. The 13,439 no-shows were the highest number in Dallas since an ice storm eight years earlier, and broke the Cowboys' string of 44 consecutive sellouts. Fan expectations were low for the game, as both teams were expected to be in poor physical condition following the layoff. The crowd in attendance became more vocal as the game went on, thanks largely to a series of questionable calls by the officials, all against Dallas.
The Buccaneers were held to nine points, despite five possessions inside the Dallas 10-yard line, and despite statistically outperforming the Cowboys on both offense and defense. Doug Williams completed 23 of 42 passes with no interceptions, and James Wilder rushed 12 times for 67 yards. The Buccaneers were plagued by mistakes such as Theo Bell dropping a pass in the end zone, and Bill Capece missing a 24-yard field goal attempt.
The Cowboys, for their part, only twice were able to move the ball into Buccaneer territory. Reserve fullback Robert Newhouse scored the winning points on a 3-yard third-quarter run. The Buccaneers had the ball in the final minute, but Kevin House was ruled out of bounds on a potentially game-winning end-zone reception. Jimmie Giles' fumble on the following play was recovered by Michael Downs at the Dallas 1-yard line with five seconds remaining.
Buccaneer players were upbeat after the loss, feeling vindicated that they had been able to play competitively with the Cowboys, as contrasted with their playoff loss of the previous season. McKay credited Tom Landry's coaching, saying that the Cowboys were not much more talented than the Buccaneers.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Chuck Heberling
- UMPIRE: Gordon Wells
- LINE JUDGE: Dale Orem
- HEAD LINESMAN: Terry Glorke
- BACK JUDGE: Al Jury
- FIELD JUDGE: Charley Musser
- SIDE JUDGE: Bob Quimby
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 04:53-1Q Capece FG26
- BUCCANEERS: 00:07-1Q Capece FG27
- COWBOYS: 01:13-2Q Pearson 9 pass from White (Septien kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 09:52-3Q Capece FG26
- COWBOYS: 03:57-3Q Newhouse 3 run (Septien kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #84 G. Jones
- LT: #75 D. Reavis
- LG: #68 G. Yarne
- C: #50 S. Wilson
- RG: #61 G. Roberts
- RT: #73 C. Hannah
- TE: #88 J. Giles
- WR: #89 K. House
- QB: #12 D. Williams
- RB: #32 J. Wilder
- RB: #26 J. Owens
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #65 D. Stalls
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #63 L. Selmon
- LOLB: #59 A. Hawkins
- SILB: #56 C. Johnson
- WILB: #52 S. Brantley
- ROLB: #53 H. Green
- LCB: #41 N. Thomas
- RCB: #40 M. Washington
- SS: #20 N. Colzie
- FS: #34 C. Brown
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Morton, 3 Capece, 9 Swider, 21 Holt, 22 Smith, 24 Morris, 28 Carver, 30 Barrett, 33 Cotney, 51 Nafziger, 54 Wood, 57 Leonard, 58 Davis, 62 Farrell, 66 Reese, 78 Cannon, 82 J Bell, 83 T Bell, 86 Obradovich, 87 Carter, 90 White
DID NOT PLAY
- 11 Golsteyn, 44 Middleton, 67 Cobb, 72 Snell, 74 Sanders, 81 Tyler
INACTIVE
- none.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 12-67, Owens 17-50, Williams 3-6, Giles 1-1.
- COWBOYS: Dorsett 15-52, Springs 4-16, Newsome 4-7, Newhouse 1-3, White 2-0.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 42-23-258-0-0.
- COWBOYS: White 16-11-158-1-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 5-22, Giles 4-93, House 4-24, Jones 3-45, Carter 3-42, Owens 2-9.
- COWBOYS: Springs 3-28, Dorsett 3-16, Johnson 2-69, Pearson 2-24, Hill 1-21.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Green 1-31.
- COWBOYS: none.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Morton 2-39, Smith 1-14.
- COWBOYS: Fellows 4-107.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Holt 4-24, T.Bell 1-14.
- COWBOYS: none.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Stalls 1.5-22.5, Logan 1-14, Green 1-8, Selmon 0.5-6.5.
- COWBOYS: Clinkscales 1-11.
