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Dallas Cowboys: Big takeaways from win vs. Buccaneers in Week 16

By Randy Gurzi

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 23: Jaylon Smith #54 of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20 at AT&T Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 23: Jaylon Smith #54 of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20 at AT&T Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 23: Randy Gregory #94 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a sack for a touchdown fumble recovery on Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 23: Randy Gregory #94 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a sack for a touchdown fumble recovery on Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2. The defense can carry this team with turnovers

Dallas can be a dangerous team if they ever put it all together. They had a couple of drives where the offense played well, but this still wasn’t a game where both sides of the ball played to their potential.

Having said that, the defense proved they can carry this team — provided they get turnovers. The Cowboys won this game by just seven points, and 14 of those were thanks to their defense.

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Randy Gregory, who is starting to break out as a star, was in on both those big plays. First, he had a sack on Jameis Winston that led to a fumble. Linebacker Jaylon Smith scooped it up and ran it 69 yards for a touchdown to put Dallas up 14-3.

Then in the third quarter, Gregory again came up big as he scooped up another fumble and took it to the Tampa Bay four-yard line. That led to a Michael Gallup touchdown and a 27-13 lead for Dallas.

If the defense keeps scoring and giving the offense short fields, this could be a good postseason for Big D. Of course, that’s been an issue for them in the past. This defense makes stops, but turnovers are hard to come by. Perhaps this week was a change in the right direction for them.

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