Tampa Bay’s preparation for Thursday’s game in Arlington acquired a small but meaningful complication Tuesday: kicker Chase McLaughlin did not participate in the Buccaneers’ walkthrough because of a right groin/hip issue. The team has not issued a final game status, so his absence is a new variable, not a declaration that he will miss Dallas.
Still, short weeks have little patience for tidy answers, and kickers tend to become important precisely when everyone would prefer they remain a footnote.
The new listing adds uncertainty to how Tampa can finish drives. Tampa Bay’s offense has not reached 21 points in any game this season, which leaves less room for a possession to go sideways.
An unsettled kicking situation can alter the calculations at the end of a drive: whether three points are a reliable option, whether field position justifies a fourth-down attempt and how urgently a team must pursue the end zone.
Dallas has its own relationship with uncomfortable arithmetic. The Cowboys’ 34-30 victory over Houston on Oct. 4 ended when Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 12-yard touchdown at the final second. Dallas scored 28 points after halftime but produced only six before the break.
The winning play was excellent. The need for it exposed how much work the Cowboys had left themselves in the closing minutes.
That was the second Dallas game in a brief stretch to reach the last second. The Sept. 27 loss to Baltimore in Rio also required the final possession to settle the result. Two games do not establish a permanent identity, particularly for an offense averaging 30.5 points through four weeks and topping 30 in its three latest outings.
They do, however, make early possession management a reasonable Thursday concern. Big scoring totals can conceal how little margin a team created before the finish.
Tampa’s defense should make that margin harder to build. The Buccaneers have held each of their past three opponents below 285 total yards, and Green Bay scored only 17 points Sunday. Tampa has managed six sacks through four games, though, and did not bring down Green Bay’s quarterback.
Tampa’s own offense has a different problem before it reaches scoring range: its pass protection has the league’s highest rate of sacks conceded. A drive stopped there never offers a choice between a kick and a touchdown attempt.
Dallas is in a better position by that comparison, ranking sixth in the league in sacks allowed per pass play. Even that relatively favorable rate leaves work to do against Tampa’s front. Prescott has thrown for 1,065 yards, eight touchdowns and a 105.0 passer rating, but those numbers cannot guarantee clean pockets against Tampa.
Prescott also said Tuesday that he expects to be ready for the short turnaround. The Cowboys still need to protect him and avoid wasting early downs if they want the quarterback’s confidence to matter beyond the sound bite.
Tampa safety Tykee Smith identified another complication in the matchup: Lamb and George Pickens move around the formation, forcing the defense to account for more than a fixed receiver location. The Buccaneers intend to disguise coverage and make Prescott spend longer identifying the best answer instead of immediately checking into it. Whether Tampa can conceal those intentions effectively is a separate question.
