The Dallas Cowboys will try to continue their winning ways, when they host the red hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield who have won four games in a row.

Tampa Bay leads the NFC South with Baker Mayfield having a fantastic season. Dallas has struggled on the other hand, especially at home. They are 6-8 and they are in third place in the NFC East.

The Buccaneers, heading into their bye week, lost four in a row, but since then have righted the ship, winning 3 out of 4 games, and have a record of 8-6. That is good for first place in the NFC South, one game ahead of the 7-7 Falcons at.

In their last game, the Buccaneers defeated the Chargers 40-17 in Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 15. Tampa Bay actually trailed 17-13 at halftime before they exploded for 27 unanswered points to steam roll the Chargers, in a convincing victory.

Baker Mayfield has thrown for 3,623 yards this season, which is fourth among quarterbacks in 2025. He has thrown for 32 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His main target has been WR Mike Evans, with 749 yards and 8 touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Buccaneers are led by Lavonte David with 104 tackles which is 38 more tackles then the rest of the team. Their secondary are ball hawks with 18 turnovers and 11 forced fumbles.

Tampa Bay is averaging 28.8 points per game on offense which is fourth in the league.

On defense, Tampa Bay is allowing 23.3 points per game which ranks 19th best. They are the third worst pass defense as they are giving up 247.7 passing yards per game. The rush defense is allowing 109.2 yards per game ranking 11th in the league. 

The Cowboys are finally getting their running game in high gear.They have found their groove as they have defeated the Commanders, Giants and the lowly Panthers, with a heart breaking loss to the Bengals.

In their last game, Dallas defeated the Panthers 30-14 away from home. Cooper Rush who has filled in nicely for Dak Prescott after his season ending groin injury, threw for a career high three touchdowns.

Rush threw for 214 yards and completed 18-for-29 of his passes along with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rico Dowdle had a big game with 149 rushing yards while CeeDee Lamb had 116 receiving yards and a touchdown. 

Rush has thrown for over 1,400 yards this season with 19 touchdowns. The running game has been led buy Rico Dowdle with 880 yards when the running game was non existent early in the season, and he has a great shot of rushing for 1,000 yards this season. On the receiving side Ceedee Lamb has caught 8 touchdowns for 1,089 yards .

On defense, Dallas is led by Eric Kendricks with 124 tackles, 34 more tackles than anyone else on the team. Micah Parsons has shined, too. He has a team-leading 8.5 sacks. The defense has forced 19 turnovers on the season as well. 

Consistency is the key when the games in December roll around. The cowboys have been playing great football on both sides of the ball. Their running game has come to life. Baker Mayfield has been lights out as of late, but with Micah Parsons, the Cowboys can set the tone early with their defense and pounding the ball with Rico Dowdle, and using Cedee Lamb with some play action early.

The main key will be the return game led buy Kavante Turpin which will be the deciding factor. The Cowboys will win a close game and dash the Buccaneers playoff hopes.

Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 24 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21