Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season kicks off with an NFC match-up between the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday night.
The campaign could not have gone much worse for the Bucs, who were the pre-season favorites to win the NFC South, but stand at 0-4 after sustaining three straight home losses to the Browns, Vikings and Packers.
The results alone are bad enough, but Todd Bowles is also without his starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield, who remains out of action with a dislocated thumb, so undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels is set to make a second start.
The Cowboys are not where they would want to be either, at 2-2 after wins over the Commanders and Texans and defeats to the Giants and Ravens, but they have a golden opportunity to win the NFC East this season with all of their divisional rivals suffering key injuries early on, and they are heavily favored to have a winning record for the first time this season after Thursday's game.
Buccaneers vs. Cowboys Betting Picks and Predictions
Dallas Cowboys -8.5 (-108)
The Cowboys have played two close and exciting games since cruising to a 37-20 home win over the Commanders in Week 2 but they have plenty in their favor as they aim for a comfortable victory over the struggling Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football.
The Bucs are in real trouble with an untried young quarterback set to make the first road start of his career, and they face a tough task trying to keep pace with the elite offensive firepower of the Cowboys.
Only the Buffalo Bills have scored more points than the Cowboys this season with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens and running back Javonte Williams capable of testing any defense they face.
The Bucs have not impressed defensively despite limiting the damage in their recent home losses and they could be in for a long night in their first road trip since Week 1.
Tampa Bay has yet to cover the spread in four outings this season, losing straight up as a home favorite against the Browns and the Vikings, and that was when the Bucs still had the dangerous Mayfield at QB.
The Cowboys have everything they need to avoid getting involved in any primetime drama and look set to move to 3-2 with a win by a double-digit margin.
Over 30.5 Dallas Cowboys points (+100)
The total on this game looks attractively low at first glance at 48.5 but overs backers would have to be worried about how much this Tampa Bay team could contribute to the total.
A smarter move may be to take that issue out of the equation by betting simply on the Cowboys to score 31 or more points.
Brian Schottenheimer's team have matched or gone beyond that total in each of their last three games, including when losing a thrilling contest 34-31 to the Ravens in Brazil in Week 3.
Having returned to Texas with a 34-30 road win over Houston, there's nothing much wrong with the Dallas offense right now and Williams and Lamb already have nine touchdowns between them this season.
The Bucs' defense has been further weakened by the absence of talented safety Antoine Winfield Jr. with a rib injury that could keep him out for at least two weeks, and the home fans should have plenty of scores to celebrate on Thursday night.
CeeDee Lamb 90+ receiving yards (+120)
As Week 5 begins, the Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb is the leading receiver in the NFL with an amazing total of 498 receiving yards, seven more than Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave of New Orleans.
Lamb has looked virtually unguardable in his last three games, posting 153 receiving yards against the Commanders, 112 against the Ravens and then a sensational 189 against the Texans, when he caught 17 of the 21 passes that came his way.
The star man is unlikely to keep up that pace all season, but his receiving yards line for Thursday's game against an injury-hit defense looks generous at just 80.5 (-115 odds) and it's worth aiming for a little more juice in the return by taking 90+ yards at plus-money.
The Bucs have given up 90 or more receiving yards to rookie Denzel Boston of the Browns and Jordan Addison of the Vikings this season and Lamb is an even more formidable opponent.
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Buccaneers vs. Cowboys odds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +365 |
Dallas Cowboys | -480 |
Spread | DAL Cowboys -8.5 |
Total | O/U 48.5 |
Buccaneers vs. Cowboys player props
Anytime touchdown
Javonte Williams (DAL Cowboys) | -240 |
|---|---|
CeeDee Lamb (DAL Cowboys) | -115 |
George Pickens (DAL Cowboys) | +115 |
Bucky Irving (TB Buccaneers) | +175 |
Jake Ferguson (DAL Cowboys) | +230 |
Emeka Egbuka (TB Buccaneers) | +245 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
