The Buccaneers suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys that cost them control of the NFC South.
The Cowboys came away with a 26-24 win over the Bucs and it will be a forced fumble of epic proportions that will be remembered most from the wild “Sunday Night Football” showdown at AT&T Stadium.
With a little more than a minute and a half left in the game and the Buccaneers trailing by two, Baker Mayfield managed to withstand the Cowboys’ pass rush and with a Dallas defender draped around his waist, Mayfield got a short pass off to Rachaad White.
White looked as though he was going to gain some positive yardage as Tampa tried to march downfield, but as he was being taken down around the Bucs’ 31-yard line, DaRon Bland managed to rip the ball out of White’s hands as he was being tackled.
“I just seen him have the ball kind of loose and I was like it’s time to go get the ball,” Bland said to NBC after the game. “Kind of made a mistake at the end on the drive before that, so I had to get the ball back.”
The moment was made even more devastating as the Buccaneers fell even with the Falcons at 8-7, who had defeated the Giants earlier in the day, at the top of the division standings.
Atlanta holds an edge with the tiebreaker since they have defeated Tampa twice this season. Tampa Bay also sits on the outside looking in on the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
The play also transpired in a spirited battle between the Bucs and Cowboys despite Dallas not having much to play for after their playoff hopes had officially ended earlier in the day.
The Cowboys have now won four of their last five games after ending a five-game losing streak.
The Buccaneers will face the Panthers and the Saints to close out their season.