Cowboys close hectic stretch on short week with another winless opponent in the Buccaneers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are near the end of a hectic two-week itinerary that included 10-hour flights to and from Rio de Janeiro, another trip to Houston and now a quick turn to finish off three games in 11 days.

After a visit from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, there just might be a small sigh of relief from some of the Cowboys. Or not.

“It just depends on what people consider busy,” edge rusher Rashan Gary said. “This is fun.”

It's not December yet, either.

“It's still early in the season, going on Week 5,” Gary said. “Right now, the team's been good, healthy. Me personally, healthy. It's still early in the season.”

The Cowboys are set for a second consecutive game against a winless team with a recent history of either making the playoffs or contending for a postseason spot.

There is one significant difference.

The Buccaneers have an undrafted rookie quarterback making his second start in Jalon Daniels with Baker Mayfield sidelined by a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand after signing a $165 million, three-year extension before the season. Tampa Bay lost to Green Bay 17-14 in Daniels' debut.

Dak Prescott led the drive to his winning touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in the final minute of a 34-30 victory over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, perhaps taking the edge off the desperation for Dallas. This is where Prescott thinks the short week can actually help.

“You didn’t even really go over the film that much with the coaches,” Prescott said. “You turn the page, and you’re on to the Bucs. And understanding we got a team coming in here winless, how desperate they’re gonna be and it’s the NFL and the parity of it.”

Tampa Bay entered the season as the NFC South favorite, but now faces long odds to make the playoffs. The Bucs have lost 11 of 13 games since their 6-2 start last season.

The previous time Tampa Bay was winless this far into the season was 2013, when the Buccaneers started 0-8 and finished 4-12 before then-coach Greg Schiano was fired.

“I think it’s a challenge every week — it’s more of a challenge if you’re winning than it is if you’re losing because you’re desperate if you’re losing,” coach Todd Bowles said. “If you’re winning, you can get big-headed and off-balance. We know what we have to do to win, so we just have to do it.”

Tampa Bay (0-4) at Dallas (2-2)

When/where to watch: Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Prime Video

Latest odds: Cowboys by 8 1/2

Against the spread: Cowboys 3-1; Buccaneers 0-4

Last week: Cowboys beat Texans 34-30; Buccaneers lost to Packers 17-14.

Last meeting: Cowboys beat Buccaneers 26-24 on Dec. 22, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.

Series record: Cowboys lead 17-6.

Daniels vs. Dallas defense. The Cowboys are about to face their fifth mobile quarterback in five games. They've had issues, whether running or throwing, with each of the first four. While a beleaguered defense has shown signs of improvement, the reality is Dallas is tied for second worst in the NFL with four sacks and is the only team without an interception this season. If they can't boost those numbers against an undrafted rookie forced into the starting job, the red flags will fly higher.

— Dallas LG Tyler Smith is listed as questionable for the first game he is eligible to return from injured reserve. He had surgery just before the season for ligament damage in his left thumb. LB DeMarvion Overshown will miss his fourth consecutive game since injuring a hamstring in the opener.

— The Bucs will be without two defensive starters in S Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib) and CB Benjamin Morrison (quadriceps), along with LB SirVocea Dennis (ankle/foot). Mayfield is expected to miss at least one more game.

— Prescott is tied with two-time Super Bowl winner Roger Staubach for second among Cowboys quarterbacks with 85 regular-season victories. Three-time champ Troy Aikman is the leader at 94.

— Tampa Bay’s past 10 games going back to last season have been decided by one possession. It's the longest streak of one-score games in club history and the longest active streak in the NFL.

— The Buccaneers are on a 13-game losing streak against the spread. That's the longest such skid of the Super Bowl era.

— Lamb is the fourth player in NFL history with at least 17 catches, 185 yards receiving (he had 189) and a touchdown. The others are Pro Football Hall of Famers Tom Fears (1950) and Terrell Owens (2000), along with Brandon Marshall (2009).

— Bucs rookie LB Josiah Trotter had at least nine tackles in each of his first four games. Trotter was a second-round pick out of Missouri.

— Since making his NFL-record seventh career field goal of at least 60 yards against Washington in Week 2 (a 60-yarder), Dallas' Brandon Aubrey is 0-2 from that distance. He had a 62-yard attempt blocked against Baltimore and was wide left on a 65-yarder against Houston.

This story corrects a previous version with 85 regular-season victories for Dak Prescott and Roger Staubach, not 84.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) lies in the end zone after he was sacked during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Green Bay Packers safety Evan Williams (33) celebrates after sacking Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) during the second half an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb celebrates his touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans running back David Montgomery is hauled down by Dallas Cowboys defenders during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas court on Wednesday refused to halt the execution of a man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk after his attorneys cited the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee.

The execution was scheduled to take place later Wednesday in Texas and would be the first in the U.S. since Pike survived the execution attempt last week.

Because Texas planned to inject the same drug used in Pike's attempted execution — pentobarbital — attorneys for 46-year-old Jamaal Howard argued to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that the drug poses similar risks. They also raised concerns about the quality of the state's execution drugs.

The court denied the stay request without elaboration.

Pike's lawyers are seeking more information about what went wrong after the 50-year-old woman survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. She was unconscious for several days at a hospital but was awake and speaking by Tuesday.

“Texas should not be eager to follow in Tennessee’s footsteps; a stay would keep that from happening,” Howard's attorneys argued in their filing.

Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more lethal injections scheduled after Howard. He would become the 30th person executed nationwide in 2026.

On Wednesday, Howard was described as “chatty” during the 45-mile (70-kilometer) drive from the death row prison to the Huntsville Unit where executions are carried out, said Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

“He made small talk with the officers through the whole trip,” she said.

Once inside the Huntsville prison, he was taken to a small holding cell near the death chamber and remained talkative.

“He was asking questions and was very engaged in the process,” Hernandez said.

Howard was convicted of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest during a store robbery. Evidence presented at the trial included the store’s surveillance video that showed Howard shooting Swartout.

Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in the small, rural town of Silsbee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to court records.

His attorneys have argued that Howard is intellectually disabled and his execution should be halted. The state said that he has not presented evidence showing he meets the requirements for a claim of intellectual disability.

He has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution.

In n2002, the Supreme Court had barred the execution of intellectually disabled people. But it has given states some discretion in determining intellectual disability.

The motion filed early Wednesday in the Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas said Howard's attorneys had filed requests for information about the lethal dose of pentobarbital that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice planned to use.

The attorneys said the department asked for a state attorney general opinion about whether it must disclose that information.

The Texas attorney general opinion is not expected to be returned until after Wednesday, meaning Howard can't litigate whatever decision the state might make on releasing that information, they argued.

Texas officials did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday morning.

Florida has carried out 16 executions so far this year, the most of any state. Most states that allow executions use lethal injection as their primary method.

Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee has halted the one remaining execution for the rest of the year.

Stengle reported from Fort Worth, Texas.

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Jamaal Howard on Oct. 28, 2022. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Jamaal Howard on Oct. 28, 2022. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)