At the start of the season, the Dallas Cowboys were Super Bowl favorites in the NFC. But now they are nothing more than a sideshow.
Cowboys vs. Buccaneers 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
One of these last-place teams is a sideshow, whereas the other one is on the march towards respectability.
Dallas hasn't won a game since Tony Romo broke his collarbone in Week 2, dropping six consecutive contests. The Cowboys have alternated between Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel in Romo's absence and neither has been able to gain much traction. Cassel will get his fourth consecutive start Sunday, but if all goes according to plan, he won't take the field for the Cowboys again. Romo is expected to return to the lineup Nov. 22 against the Miami Dolphins.
The Cowboys nearly walked away with a win against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday night before falling to them 33-27 in overtime. It was Cassel's best game of the season. He passed for 299 yards and three touchdown passes, but a lot of that success was mitigated by a pick-six he threw in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps the biggest positive for the Cowboys was the performance of Dez Bryant, who caught five passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. It was a stark improvement from his two-catch effort in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Under normal circumstances, Bryant's reintegration into the offense after missing seven weeks would probably be the biggest story around the Cowboys. But this has been far from a normal season. Not even Bryant's latest outburst can compare to the attention Greg Hardy has gotten since he returned to the lineup for Week 5's matchup against the New England Patriots. Hardy has dominated headlines, but for all of the wrong reasons.
On Wednesday, just five days after Deadspin published the harrowing photos of the physical abuse Hardy allegedly levied onto his ex-girlfriend in May 2014, the website released a transcript of Hardy’s reinstatement hearing with the NFL. Hardy and his lawyer claimed Nicole Holder assaulted Hardy the night of the incident, and painted her as a sexual deviant as well. None of the NFL’s lawyers offered Hardy much resistance. Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t present.
It was another day of bad PR for the Cowboys, which is par for the course. The club continues to employ Hardy even though it has every reason to cut him. As the possibility of a lost season continues to become a reality that even Jerry Jones can’t ignore, Hardy’s presence on the team becomes even more laughable.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to hand the Cowboys their seventh consecutive defeat this weekend as they look to rebound from a 32-18 loss against the NFC East-leading New York Giants. The Bucs beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 the previous week when Jameis Winston threw for one touchdown pass and ran for another.
Tampa Bay’s running game is ranked seventh in the league so far this season and has done a nice job of taking the pressure off Winston. The rookie quarterback struggled early with turnovers but hasn’t thrown an interception in four games.
At first, all of the eyes on Sunday will be on the combustible Cowboys sideline. But by the end of the afternoon, Winston and the Buccaneers hope to make themselves the center of the story with their fourth win of the season.
How to Watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV: FOX
Commentators: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver
Online: NFL Game Pass
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