ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Leading an NFL team into his home state of Texas isn't new for Baker Mayfield.
Helping his team on a big step toward the playoffs while playing so close to his roots would be new for the Tampa Bay quarterback.
A four-game winning streak has the Buccaneers (8-6) atop the NFC South, where they will try to stay by themselves against Dallas on Sunday night.
The Cowboys (6-8) are close to elimination, which would end a three-year playoff run for a club that lost star QB Dak Prescott to a season-ending hamstring injury after eight games.
It will be Mayfield's second game at AT&T Stadium — the other was a 49-38 victory with Cleveland in front of a pandemic-restricted crowd four years ago.
“There’s a lot of memories that I have,” said Mayfield, who won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and played high school football in the Austin area. “I played a state championship game in high school there, Big 12 championship there. It’s close enough to Oklahoma that you always see a lot of Sooner jerseys in there. For me, it’s special.”
Mayfield lost twice in Houston, the first time as the rookie No. 1 overall pick when the Browns never were in serious playoff contention.
A year ago, Mayfield's Bucs dropped to 3-5 with a loss to the Texans before a late-season surge to the division title and a wild-card victory.
The path is similar this time around, and Tampa Bay is coming off a resounding 40-17 victory over the AFC playoff-contending Los Angeles Chargers.
“We didn’t listen when we were losing. We’re not listening now that we’re winning, so that’s not going to be a big deal,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We have enough sarcastic coaches and sarcastic players to insult people to keep everybody grounded so that we’re all ready to work, so that’s not a problem at all.”
The postseason has been a pipe dream for the Cowboys for about a month now, but they've won three out of four anyway with coach Mike McCarthy on an expiring contract.
This season is likely to end with four starters on injured reserve — Prescott, seven-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin (ankle), 2021 All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.
“Obviously, it’s important to live, learn and apply to the future. I do enjoy these questions, because I am a philosopher,” McCarthy said, trying to keep a straight face. “We need to beat Tampa. At the end of the day, our job is to create the culture, make sure the team is being trained properly and make sure our guys are getting everything they need to win football games.”
Cooper Rush is set for his seventh start in place of Prescott and is coming off a career-best three touchdown passes in a 30-14 victory at Carolina.
Rush's first career start — and win — was on a Sunday night in Minnesota three years ago. Of his 13 starts, this is set to be the sixth in prime time.
“I’ve been here a long time,” Rush said. “I’m kinda used to the schedule of these late night games. That helps, being around for awhile. Me and my brother actually joke about, for some reason, I have a ridiculous amount of prime-time starts for how many starts I have. The ratio is kinda funny.”
The Bucs' winning streak has come after they lost five of six. Last season, a 5-1 finish to clinch a third consecutive NFC South title followed a stretch of six losses in seven games.
Tampa Bay is 8-1 in December/January regular-season games going back to 2023 and 20-5 in such games since 2020, the first of Tom Brady’s three years in Tampa Bay.
Star edge rusher Micah Parsons of the Cowboys has been promising he would make it to 10 sacks for the fourth time in his four seasons despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain. He's at 8 1/2, looking to become the fifth player to have double-digit sacks in each of his first four years. The other four are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“For me it’s just being resilient and proving people wrong,” said Parsons, who had just one sack when he returned from the injury in the season's ninth game. “I still feel like I’m still trying to prove myself in this league, and I feel like I’ll never lose that chip.”
Bucs running back Bucky Irving, who leads all NFL rookies with 852 yards rushing while sharing the workload with starter Rachaad White, is not the only 2024 draft pick playing key roles.
Center Graham Barton, wide receiver Jalen McMillan (22 receptions, 279 yards, four TDs) and safety Tykee Smith (tied for team lead with two interceptions) are starters, while linebacker Chris Braswell has appeared in every game.
“The way the league is going right now, coming out of college you don’t get the luxury of sitting everybody for a year or two behind somebody else,” Bowles said. “If you’re drafting seven guys, at least four of them better be significant players right now, and the other three better have a skill set for the near future or something down the line.”
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