The Dallas Cowboys will be facing their second consecutive NFC South opponent of the season in Week 16, but this time they’ll be playing the leader in the division. It’ll be a home game for the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, and there are reasons to hate matching up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After a four-game losing streak, the Buccaneers have turned things around and are now riding a four-game winning streak. Much like the Cowboys, the turnaround has consisted of beating mostly bad teams, but Todd Bowles’ group is in position to win their division and make it to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
The Cowboys will have their hands full trying to stop an offense averaging nearly 29 points per game and coming off a 40-burger performance. Here are three reasons to hate the Week 16 opponent, the Buccaneers.
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QB Baker Mayfield
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Since arriving in Tampa Bay, there’s been a resurgence from quarterback Baker Mayfield. This has been the best season for the former first overall pick, who has already thrown for a career-high 32 touchdowns and is on pace to surpass his personal best in passing yards in a year.
Mayfield is coming into this game off perhaps his best outing of the season, throwing for 288 yards and four scores against a good Los Angeles Chargers defense. The veteran QB had a career-best 81.5 completion percentage in the win, which has been consistent with his 2024 campaign, where he ranks third in the league at 70.8%. Mayfield’s also third in the NFL in passing yards, and third in touchdown passes.
Everything Mayfield is doing right now is what was expected of him when he was selected as the top player in the 2018 draft. The Cowboys’ defense won’t like seeing a hot QB coming for them in Week 16.
RB Bucky Irving
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Last April, the Cowboys had a chance to draft a running back for the future but failed to do so. This week they’ll be playing against a RB who was the pet cat for many draft gurus who wanted the Cowboys to select him on Day 3. Without a fourth-round pick, the organization never got a chance to draft Bucky Irving, who has been the best rookie RB on the season.
Irving hasn’t been the full-time starter at RB all year, but he does have 852 yards rushing on just 152 carries. The rookie is just 27th in carries but 16th in rushing yards, sitting just behind Dallas’ RB Rico Dowdle. Irving also has six touchdowns on the ground and is third in the league for RBs in yards per carry, averaging 5.6 a tote.
Irving’s number are impressive considering he’s only gotten double-digit carries in six games, all of which have included a score or at least 100 yards rushing. In four of his last five games where he’s played the majority of the snaps (he barely played two weeks ago), Irving has run for at least 73 yards, including two 100-yard outings, and he’s scored three touchdowns.
In those four games, he’s also averaging 6.7 yards per carry, a full yard over his season’s average. Irving is getting better as the year goes on with more touches, and could surpass 1,000 yards rushing, a first for the Buccaneers since 2015. That’s not a common occurrence for a rookie, but Irving is already proving to be one of the better RBs in the league.
WR Mike Evans
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There’s a lot to hate about playing the Buccaneers that revolves around their offense, and the veteran wide receiver is another reason. Evans has been one of the best WRs in the league since he entered it in 2014, and he’s on pace to surpass 1,000 yards for his 11th straight season to start a career, extending his own record. If Evans can keep his pace and go over 1,000 yards again, he’ll break the tie with Hall of Fame WR Randy Moss and take sole possession of second place in 1,000-yard seasons.
His numbers look like he’s having a down year, but he has missed extended time with a hamstring injury. Despite being hurt, Evans still leads the Buccaneers with 749 yards receiving and has nine scores, good for fourth in the league.
Since his return from injury, Evans has settled back into being a top WR. In his last outing against the Chargers, Evans had his second 100-yard receiving game since coming back, setting season-highs in receptions (nine) and yards (158), to go along with two scores. Evans also had 118 yards and a score in a Week 13 win against the Carolina Panthers.
There is no slowing down for Evans, who continues to excel, despite being 31 years old. He hit the ground running in his return from injury, and the Cowboys will have a tough time controlling the future Hall of Fame WR.
