Man, the Cowboys. Hanging on to a 6-3 lead with a minute left in the game, the Dallas defense flushed Jameis Winston out of the pocket, forcing him to take off for the end zone on third-and-goal from the four-yard line. Two defenders converged on Winston as he approached the goal line and he decided to jump over them. As he leapt, he lost control of the ball and clearly fumbled it before crossing the plane, and Dallas clearly recovered it.
But! A penalty. A penalty on the Dallas defense before the fumble. A penalty for holding that ripped the game away from the Cowboys and gave the Buccaneers life again. Jeff Heath certainly held Russell Shephard and he certainly picked the worst possible time to do it.
One first-and-goal from the half-yard line after the penalty, Winston took a bootleg untouched into the end zone and put the Bucs up 10-6. A Tampa Bay penalty on the kickoff gave Dallas a bit of a chance to make some noise, but Matt Cassel heaved an interception to end the game. The Cowboys are now 2-7 and a full-fledged disaster.[FOX]
Advertisement