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Daily Play Call

2026 Week 5 · Oct 8, 2026 · Hard

Buccaneers at Cowboys final drive: call the plays

DAL16
3:424th
24TB
1st & 10Ball on own 24
DALTB101020203030404050504040303020201010

Touchdown, then two to tie

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The situation

Dallas Cowboys down 8 (16–24), 3:42 left in the fourth quarter, 1st & 10 on the own 24. You are the play-caller for this Buccaneers at Cowboys final drive.

Score
Cowboys 16, Buccaneers 24
Clock
3:42, Q4
Ball
1st & 10, own 24
Timeouts
3 left (defense 2)
Difficulty
Hard
Typical win rate
10%

The difficulty comes from how often a typical NFL play-caller wins from this spot in our simulation. The real head coach was Brian Schottenheimer; the defense was coached by Todd Bowles.

What really happened on this drive

Play the drive first: the real calls are below.

Show the real play-by-play (7 plays)

The Cowboys turned it over. Final score: Cowboys 16, Buccaneers 24, a loss for Cowboys.

  1. 1st & 10 at the own 24, 3:42 · Quick out (best call)
    4-D.Prescott pass short left to 87-J.Ferguson to DAL 30 for 6 yards (23-T.Smith).
  2. 2nd & 4 at the own 30, 3:22 · Quick out (best call)
    4-D.Prescott pass short right to 19-R.Flournoy to TB 44 for 26 yards (22-K.Scott).
  3. 1st & 20 at the own 46, 2:44 · Quick out (close)
    4-D.Prescott pass short left to 3-G.Pickens to TB 47 for 7 yards (45-J.Trotter).
  4. 2nd & 13 at the opp 47, 2:17 · Quick out (best call)
    4-D.Prescott pass short right to 18-J.Mingo to TB 35 for 12 yards (22-K.Scott).
  5. 3rd & 1 at the opp 35, 2:00 · Inside run (best call)
    33-J.Williams up the middle to TB 33 for 2 yards (22-K.Scott).
  6. 1st & 10 at the opp 33, 1:41 · Quick out (best call)
    4-D.Prescott pass short left to 3-G.Pickens to TB 24 for 9 yards (22-K.Scott).
  7. 2nd & 1 at the opp 24, 1:22 · Short middle (best call)
    4-D.Prescott pass short middle intended for 87-J.Ferguson INTERCEPTED by 34-A.Anzalone at TB 12. 34-A.Anzalone to TB 12 for no gain.

By our grades, Brian Schottenheimer made the best or a near-best call (green) on 6 of 7 graded snaps and gave up 0.9 win-probability points per call on average. Plays with penalties are not graded.

How this final drive is graded

Every call you make is compared with every other call available on that snap. We play out the rest of the drive hundreds of times from your exact down, distance, field position, clock and timeouts, with results drawn from real NFL plays and a typical NFL play-caller making the later calls. The difference in win probability between your call and the best call is your grade for that snap. The final drive result, touchdown or not, does not change the grades. Read the full method.

More final drives from 2026 Week 5

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