Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Dallas Cowboys Prediction, 10/8/2026 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 5

Game: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Dallas Cowboys

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026

Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX

TV: Prime Video

Odds-Point Spread: Buccaneers +9.0

Total-Over-Under: 47.5

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4) are headed to AT&T Stadium on Thursday where they will meet the Dallas Cowboys (2-2). Dallas opens this game as 9-point favorites. The over-under comes in at 47.5.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into this matchup 0-4 so far this year. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Buccaneers faced off with the Green Bay Packers and took a loss by a score of 17-14. Jalon Daniels connected on 19-27 with 148 yds passing and 1 TD. He had a QB rating of 65 and ended the contest with 2 picks. Cade Otton left with an average of 9.3 yards per catch by accumulating 37 yds on 4 catches. Bucky Irving was the best rusher for the Buccaneers with 16 carries for 61 yards (3.8 yards per attempt). Overall, they had 58 plays which gave them 275 yards. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended up rushing 31 times and had 141 yards, which earned them an average of 4.5 yds per carry. In the running game, the Buccaneers gave up 86 yards on 25 attempts, which is 3.4 yds per run allowed. Tampa Bay gave up 22 pass completions on 30 tries for a total of 197 yards, and a completion rate of 73.3%.

When it comes to putting the ball in the endzone, the Buccaneers are sitting at 19.0 points per game. As a unit, they average 106.0 rushing yds which has them ranked 17th in pro football. The Buccaneers have a total of 1,113 total yards this year. Tampa Bay currently has 36 1st downs as a unit, and they have committed 26 infractions for 199 total yards. They have given the ball away 9 times (5 interceptions and 4 lost fumbles). If you analyze scoring touchdowns, Tampa Bay has compiled 3 touchdowns via the pass and 3 touchdowns via the run.

The Buccaneers rank 20th in the league when analyzing the opposition scoring, yielding 24.0 PPG. They are giving up an average of 3.2 yds per tote and 78.5 rushing yds per contest for this campaign. If you analyze pass yds, the Buccaneers have relinquished 817 yards, ranking them 9th in the league. They have allowed 204.3 yards per game by way of the pass, and are relinquishing a completion rate of 69.4%. In total, they are surrendering 282.8 yards per contest, which has them ranked 4th in pro football. They have allowed 6 touchdowns via the pass, and 1 touchdown by way of the ground game. Overall, they have relinquished 314 rushing yards through 4 matchups so far this year.

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The Cowboys come into this game with a record of 2-2 so far this year. In their last game, the Cowboys walked away with a victory by a final of 34-30 against the Houston Texans. Dak Prescott (1 touchdown) finished the game with 335 yds on 32-45 through the air while his QB rate was 99.8. He kept the ball away from the defense with no interceptions and his avg yards per attempt was 7.4 yds. CeeDee Lamb was one of the featured targets for the Cowboys, catching 17 throws for 189 yds (11.1 yds per reception). Javonte Williams carried the football 19 times for 62 yards, ending the contest with 3.3 yards per carry for Dallas. The Cowboys finished the game with a total of 399 yds while running 70 plays (5.7 yards per play). Dallas ran the ball for 3.0 yards per attempt, finishing with a total of 75 yards on 25 carries. Dallas conceded 19 rushing attempts for 62 yds (3.3 yards per rush). The Cowboys pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 67.7%, surrendering 335 yards on 21 for 31 through the air.

With reference to their scoring prowess, the Cowboys currently rank 3rd in pro football, scoring 30.5 points per game. So far this year, the Cowboys sit at 1,032 passing yards and are sitting at 258.0 passing yards per contest, which has them ranking 7th in pro football. They average 89.5 rushing yards per outing, and have toted the ball for 358 yds. The Dallas Cowboys have an average of 347.5 yards per game, which is good for 12th in the league. The Dallas offense has allowed 257 yds by way of 27 infractions, which has them ranked 24th in pro football if you analyze helping out the other team. They have allowed 1 interception while giving up 1 fumble, and have obtained 59 first downs as a team.

The Cowboys are surrendering 28.0 PPG, which is good for 28th in the league. They have yielded 9 touchdowns by way of the pass and 239.3 passing yards per contest, which has them ranking 24th in pro football. Dallas has surrendered a total of 601 rushing yds (150.3 total yards per game), plus 4 touchdowns to runners on the season. The Cowboys defense has been on the field for 245 plays from the line of scrimmage, putting them 14th in football. The D has tallied 2 turnovers this season. All in all, they have granted 112 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Buccaneers-Cowboys NFL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Buccaneers +9.0

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