Buccaneers Rookie Quarterback Makes NFL History With Cowboys Win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jalon Daniels got a win — and put himself in the record books.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It took awhile, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally have their first win of the season.

The Bucs defeated the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 on Thursday Night Football to move to 1-4 on the year. They did it with undrafted free agent Jalon Daniels under center, who is filling in for QB Baker Mayfield as Mayfield recovers from a dislocated thumb he suffered against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

Daniels played well against the Cowboys, completing 76% of his passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. But he also made history when he beat Dallas at AT&T Stadium, and it's a record that will never be broken.

Jalon Daniels Makes History vs. the Cowboys

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) rushes the ball against the Dallas Cowboys | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Per FOX Sports' Greg Auman, Daniels is the only quarterback outside of the NFL's strike year in 1987 to ever defeat the Dallas Cowboys in a regular season football game.

Tampa Bay’s Jalon Daniels is the first undrafted rookie QB ever to beat the Cowboys, aside from a strike game with replacement players in 1987.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 9, 2026

That stat makes sense — UDFA rookies rarely ever start football games anyway. Daniels is the first UDFA rookie to start for a team before Week 4 since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. There have been just 10 UDFA rookie quarterbacks to start a game since 2013 — of those 10, one of them was Kendall Hinton, a wide receiver who had to play emergency QB.

Daniels has done a decent job filling in for Mayfield so far. Daniels has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions on 55 attempts for 337 yards, and on top of that, he's rushed for 87 yards on 16 carries.

Daniels is set to start another game two Sundays from now against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6. With Mayfield already looking to come back from his dislocated thumb, Daniels will likely have one more week to show his worth and cement himself as Tampa Bay's backup for the foreseeable future when the Steelers come to Tampa Bay.

The Bucs and Daniels will play the Steelers on Oct. 18. The Bucs have alternated wins and losses against the Steelers since 2002, so maybe Daniels will help continue that trend two Sundays from now.

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