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Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8-9 last yr · #18 Elo
at
Thu, Oct 8, 8:15 PM ET
AT&T Stadium
Dallas Cowboys
7-9-1 last yr · #24 Elo
Spread DAL -3.5Total 52.5Moneyline TB +170 · DAL -205
The read
On rating alone Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 1.4 points better (#18 vs #24 of 32), and DAL add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the rushing game: TB rushing ranks #24, DAL defends it at #30; the other way DAL #8 into TB's #5.
Who has the edge
Rating
Slight edge
TB
TB rated 1.4 points better on Elo (#24 vs #18).
Home & rest
Even
—
DAL gets 0.0 points for home field.
Quarterback
not priced
—
Usual starters on both sides — Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield — no adjustment.
Passing game
Even
—
TB passing ranks #15, DAL defends it at #31; the other way DAL #6 into TB's #20.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Slight edge
TB
TB rushing ranks #24, DAL defends it at #30; the other way DAL #8 into TB's #5.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Even
—
TB third-down conversion ranks #11, DAL defends it at #32; the other way DAL #8 into TB's #13.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Clear edge
TB
DAL −9.8 per game over the last five, TB −1.8.
context · not in the margin
Market
Clear edge
DAL
Consensus has DAL by 3.5.
context · not in the margin
The margin, factor by factor
Tampa Bay BuccaneersDallas Cowboys
1477 Elo · #18
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
TB +1.4 pts
1447 Elo · #24
road
Home field
not priced
home
—
Rest
even
—
Mayfield · +2.1 EPA/g
QuarterbackStarter's value against what the team usually gets at quarterback. Only moves when someone other than the usual starter plays.
even
Prescott · +6.2 EPA/g
+3.7 pts vs DAL D
Offense vs defenseEach offense's scoring rating against the other defense's — what drives the model total. Shown as an edge, though the winner call runs on Elo.
TB +0.6 pts
+3.1 pts vs TB D
W L L L L · −1.8
Form (last 5)Average margin over the last five games. Already inside the ratings — listed so you can see when recent form and the rating disagree.
TB +4.0 pts
L W L L L · −9.8
5 out/IR
InjuriesCount of players listed Out or on IR. Not priced beyond the quarterback.
not priced
5 out/IR
TB +3.5
MarketThe consensus spread, read as points. Compare with the model margin above it.
DAL +3.5 pts
DAL -3.5
Bars are in points toward the favored side. Blue factors are inside the model's margin; grey ones are context it does not add on top (form and offense/defense are already in the ratings; injuries beyond the quarterback are not priced).
Dissect the matchup
nflverse play-by-play + FTN charting · 2025 season (last season until three games are in)Biggest mismatches
- ▸TB yac / completion (#6) against a DAL defense ranked #28 at stopping it
- ▸TB turnovers / game (#8) against a DAL defense ranked #30 at stopping it
- ▸TB third-down conversion (#11) against a DAL defense ranked #32 at stopping it
- ▸DAL completion % over expected (#8) against a TB defense ranked #28 at stopping it
- ▸DAL red-zone touchdown rate (#12) against a TB defense ranked #32 at stopping it
A mismatch is a rank gap of at least a fifth of the league between an offense and the defense it faces on the same measure. Descriptive rows (pass rate, pace, direction) are shown for reading the game, not ranked. ▲▼ mark where the last three games sit clearly above or below the season number, in the direction that helps that side.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense vs Dallas Cowboys defense
ranks of 32| TB off | DAL def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 60% | 62% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 54% | 56% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 52% | 56% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −3.5% | +0.9% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 30.6 | 30.0 | · |
| No-huddle | 6% | 11% | · |
| Shotgun | 66% | 70% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 17% | 25% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 8% | 8% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 11% | 9% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 62% | 52% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 28% | 28% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.29 | 4.32 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.04#15▲ | +0.24#31▲ | TB |
| Pass success rate | 44%#21 | 51%#30 | TB |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 9.4%#8 | 9.5%#27 | TB |
| Yards / dropback | 6.1#17 | 7.3#32 | TB |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 8.1 | 7.8 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 12% | 12% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 51% | 51% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | −2.5#25▲ | +6.9#31▲ | TB |
| YAC / completion | 5.6#6 | 5.7#28 | TB |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 6.0%#15 | 5.5%#26 | TB |
| Scramble rate | 6.7% | 6.7% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 2.0%#14▲ | 1.1%#30▼ | TB |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 40 · M 20 · R 40 | L 37 · M 17 · R 46 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.08#24▼ | +0.05#30▲ | TB |
| Rush success rate | 40%#23 | 46%#30 | TB |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 8.1%#26▼ | 14.1%#31 | · |
| Yards / rush | 3.8#27 | 4.7#27 | · |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 47 · M 22 · R 31 | L 39 · M 25 · R 36 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 41%#11▲ | 48%#32 | TB |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 55%#23 | 67%#30▼ | TB |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 0.94#8▲ | 0.65#30▼ | TB |
| Plays / game | 62 | 60 | · |
Dallas Cowboys offense vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense
ranks of 32| DAL off | TB def | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | |||
| Pass rate / Pass rate facedDropbacks as a share of plays. On the defense column: what opponents do against them. | 62% | 65% | · |
| Early-down pass rateFirst and second down only — the cleanest read on run-heavy vs pass-heavy. | 55% | 60% | · |
| Neutral-script pass rateEarly downs with win probability between 20% and 80%: intent, not catch-up mode. | 54% | 61% | · |
| Pass rate over expectedHow much more (or less) a team passes than the down, distance, score and clock predict. nflverse xpass. | −1.0% | +1.3% | · |
| Seconds per playTime of possession divided by plays — lower is faster. | 28.3 | 28.8 | · |
| No-huddle | 9% | 9% | · |
| Shotgun | 63% | 72% | · |
| Play-action rate / Play-action facedShare of dropbacks with a play fake (FTN charting). | 27% | 20% | · |
| RPO rate / RPOs faced | 5% | 7% | · |
| Screen rate / Screens faced | 6% | 7% | · |
| Pre-snap motion / Motion faced | 59% | 56% | · |
| Blitzes faced / Blitz rateFive or more pass rushers (FTN). On the offense column: how often opponents blitz them. | 28% | 34% | · |
| Pass rushers faced / Avg pass rushers | 4.32 | 4.41 | · |
| Passing | |||
| EPA / dropbackThe single best pass-efficiency number; on the defense column, what they allow. | +0.16#6 | +0.09#20▲ | DAL |
| Pass success rate | 48%#8 | 50%#27 | DAL |
| Explosive pass rateDropbacks gaining 20+ yards. | 8.2%#12 | 8.8%#23 | DAL |
| Yards / dropback | 6.9#7 | 6.7#25 | DAL |
| Depth of target (aDOT)Average air yards per attempt — how far downfield they throw, or get thrown at. | 8.2 | 7.9 | · |
| Deep-ball rate (20+ air) | 11% | 11% | · |
| Short throws (≤5 air) | 50% | 51% | · |
| Completion % over expectednflverse CPOE, per attempt. Defense column: what they allow. | +2.2#8▼ | +2.5#28▲ | DAL |
| YAC / completion | 5.0#19 | 5.7#27 | DAL |
| Sack rate / Sack rate generatedSacks per dropback. Lower is better for an offense; the defense column shows sacks they create. | 4.6%#6▲ | 5.8%#22▼ | DAL |
| Scramble rate | 4.3% | 6.3% | · |
| Interception rate / Interceptions forced | 1.9%#13▼ | 2.3%#14▼ | · |
| Throws left / middle / rightDirection shares are shown in full on the row. | L 42 · M 19 · R 39 | L 35 · M 21 · R 44 | · |
| Rushing | |||
| EPA / rush | −0.00#8▼ | −0.11#5 | · |
| Rush success rate | 44%#9 | 36%#2 | TB |
| Explosive rush rateRushes of 10+ yards. | 9.5%#19 | 9.2%#14▲ | · |
| Yards / rush | 4.6#6 | 4.1#15 | DAL |
| Runs left / middle / right | L 37 · M 32 · R 32 | L 38 · M 27 · R 35 | · |
| Situational | |||
| Third-down conversion | 42%#8 | 40%#13 | · |
| Red-zone touchdown rateDrives reaching the 20 that end in a touchdown. | 58%#12 | 70%#32 | DAL |
| Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game | 1.24#20 | 1.29#8 | TB |
| Plays / game | 65 | 58 | · |
Route-by-route data (which routes are run and how coverage plays them) is not published anywhere public — it is sold by PFF and NGS. Throw depth, direction, play-action, RPO, screens, motion and pass-rush counts above are the public pieces of the same picture.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers · key players
- Baker Mayfield QB20.2/31.9 · 217 yds/g · 26-11 TD-INT · +0.00 EPA/db
- Emeka Egbuka WRQuestionable7.5 tgt/g · 24% share · 55 yds/g · 6 TD · aDOT 12.4
- Cade Otton TE5.4 tgt/g · 17% share · 38 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 5.2
- Mike Evans WR7.8 tgt/g · 24% share · 46 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 13.3
- Sterling Shepard WR4.1 tgt/g · 13% share · 29 yds/g · 1 TD · aDOT 8.5
- Bucky Irving RB17.3 car/g · 59 yds/g · 3.4 ypc · 1 TD · −0.21 EPA/car
- Rachaad White RB7.8 car/g · 34 yds/g · 4.3 ypc · 4 TD · +0.08 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Dallas Cowboys · key players
- Dak Prescott QB23.8/35.3 · 268 yds/g · 30-10 TD-INT · +0.18 EPA/db
- George Pickens WR8.1 tgt/g · 23% share · 84 yds/g · 9 TD · aDOT 11.3
- CeeDee Lamb WR9.0 tgt/g · 25% share · 83 yds/g · 3 TD · aDOT 12.0
- Jake Ferguson TE6.0 tgt/g · 16% share · 35 yds/g · 8 TD · aDOT 4.7
- Ryan Flournoy WR4.3 tgt/g · 13% share · 37 yds/g · 4 TD · aDOT 8.3
- Javonte Williams RB15.8 car/g · 75 yds/g · 4.8 ypc · 11 TD · +0.05 EPA/car
- Malik Davis RB5.8 car/g · 28 yds/g · 4.8 ypc · 2 TD · +0.02 EPA/car
2025 season, per game. Targets ranked by volume, rushers by carries.nflverse weekly player stats. Target share is the player's average share of his team's targets in the games he played. A player who changed teams carries his own games from last season.
Season
| TB | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| 8-9 | Record | 7-9-1 |
| 22.4 | Points for / game | 27.7 |
| 24.2 | Points against / game | 30.1 |
| 4-4 / 4-5 | Home / road | 4-3 / 3-6 |
| 5-12 | Against the spread | 7-10 |
| 8-9 | Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean. | 13-4 |
| W L L L L | Last 5 | L W L L L |
Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.
Power ratings
| TB | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| 1477 | Elo | 1447 |
| #18 of 32 | Rank | #24 of 32 |
| −1.5 | Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted. | +1.9 |
| −1.2 | Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good. | −5.2 |
| — | Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season. | — |
Elo drives the winner call. Offense/defense ratings drive the total.
Efficiency
| TB | DAL | |
|---|---|---|
| -0.010 | EPA / play (offense)Expected points added per offensive play, nflverse. The single best efficiency number. | 0.094 |
| 0.019 | EPA / play allowed | 0.166 |
| 221 | Pass yards / game | 279 |
| 115 | Rush yards / game | 126 |
| 255 | Pass yards allowed | 266 |
| 99 | Rush yards allowed | 125 |
| 0.8 / 1.5 | Turnovers / takeaways | 1.2 / 1.0 |
| 2.2 / 2.2 | Sacks allowed / made | 1.8 / 2.0 |
| 17.0 | First downs / game | 20.5 |
| 43 | Penalty yards / game | 67 |
| +2.1 · #21 of 52 | QB EPA / gameThe listed starter's passing + rushing EPA per game, ranked among starters with three or more games. | +6.2 · #8 of 52 |
Efficiency is from the 2025 season until this one has games. Source: nflverse.
Head to head
| 2024 | TB 24 at DAL 26 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2022 | DAL 31 at TB 14 | DAL · DAL covered |
| 2022 | TB 19 at DAL 3 | TB · TB covered |
| 2021 | DAL 29 at TB 31 | TB · DAL covered |
| 2018 | TB 20 at DAL 27 | DAL · push |
| 2016 | TB 20 at DAL 26 | DAL · TB covered |
| 2015 | DAL 6 at TB 10 | TB · TB covered |
| 2012 | TB 10 at DAL 16 | DAL · TB covered |
How the margin was built
- Rating gap
- TB +1.4 pts
- Home field
- DAL +— pts
- Rest
- Even
- Quarterback
- Usual starters — no adjustment
- Weather / roof
- — pts on the total
- Model margin
- —
- Model total
- —
Market
- Spread
- DAL -3.5
- Total
- 52.5
- Moneyline
- TB +170 · DAL -205
| Book | DAL spread | Total | TB ML | DAL ML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| betus | -3.5 (-110) | 52.5 (-110/-110) | — | — |
| draftkings | -3.5 (-110) | 52.5 (-110/-110) | — | +160 |
| williamhill_us | -3 (-110) | 51 (-115/-115) | — | +150 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers injuries
- David Sills V WRInjured Reserve
- Deshawn McKnight DTInjured Reserve
- Josh Hayes CBInjured Reserve
- Mohamed Kamara LBInjured Reserve
- Xavier Williams SInjured Reserve
- Emeka Egbuka WRQuestionable
- Jalen McMillan WRQuestionable
- Rueben Bain Jr. LBQuestionable
- Sean Tucker RBQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Dallas Cowboys injuries
- Devin Moore CBInjured Reserve
- DJ Rogers TEInjured Reserve
- Kelvin Gilliam Jr. DTInjured Reserve
- Marist Liufau LBInjured Reserve
- Princeton Fant TEInjured Reserve
- Jonathan Bullard DTQuestionable
- Tyler Guyton OTQuestionable
From ESPN's report. The model prices the quarterback; other absences are context it does not yet price.
Informational only. Winner probabilities are backtested and calibrated; spread and total calls are tracked leans. 21+, 1-800-GAMBLER.