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Grant Gordon’s takeaways:

1. Cowboys hold on for win on too-little-too-late Sunday. Prior to kicking off what was arguably their most impressive first half of a calamitous season, the Dallas Cowboys were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. To their credit, the Cowboys — hamstrung by a lifeless offseason, mounting injuries and the seasonal scrutiny that follows the franchise — came out firing. Cooper Rush was excellent at quarterback, Brandon Aubrey made his weekly argument as the best kicker in football, CeeDee Lamb was sterling, and the Micah Parsons-led defense was phenomenal against a Buccaneers offense that entered the week as the fourth-ranked scoring unit in the league. By the time the second half kicked off, the Cowboys offense was back to a struggle bus with the running game failing, Lamb ailing and Rush slowed to a crawl. Parsons, who had one of Dallas’ four sacks and a team-high six QB pressures, and the defense kept up their inspired play though, keyed by a secondary that brought the hat all night. Along with the big hits, huge plays came via a Jourdan Lewis interception and a stunning game-clinching DaRon Bland pick-pocketing of Rachaad White to seal the win. On Sunday night, Dallas stood tall and gave reason to ponder what could’ve been with a few more performances such as this. 
2. Buccaneers go off course, in danger of shipwreck. Cruising into Week 16 with a four-game winning streak following a 40-17 shedding of the Chargers, the Buccaneers hardly looked like they’d been waiting all day for Sunday night. They were slow to get going and it might end up sinking their season as the loss dropped them behind the Falcons in the NFC South based on Atlanta sweeping the season series. Tampa trailed, 23-14, at the half and the Buccaneers defense made adjustments and stopped Dallas’ offense cold in the second half, but despite Baker Mayfield running around like a madman trying to rally his squad, it was to no avail. Much of the blame can be placed on stumbling out of the gates, as the Bucs looked rather lax in falling behind 10-0 and 20-7. The eliminated Cowboys looked to be playing with far more urgency than a Bucs squad fighting for its playoff life. Two second-half turnovers killed any comeback hopes, with the second of the two coming on White’s end-of-game fumble that followed a Herculean effort from Mayfield to flip a pass to White while dragging a defender. Now the Buccaneers are off course from controlling their own path to the postseason. Should they win out and the Falcons win out, Atlanta takes the division, and a wild-card bid seems unlikely as they’re two games behind the No. 7 Commanders. The Bucs woke up late for Sunday night and it could cost them the postseason. 
3. Longest leg in the west. In a trying season for Dallas, kicker Brandon Aubrey has been his same unbelievable self, raising eyebrows with long-range prowess once thought implausible. He accounted for 14 of Dallas’ 26 points, with four field goals included — and none of them should’ve been easy. Aubrey booted home FGs of 58, 49, 58 and 53 yards. His three 50-yarders brought his season total to 14 from 50-plus, setting a new NFL record over what was set earlier in the season by the Texans’ Ka’imi Fairbairn. Aubrey’s performance also marked the second time in his career he’s had multiple 58-plus-yard field goals in a game and the fourth such instance in league history, per NFL Research. Dallas’ season hasn’t been outstanding by any means, but the Cowboys’ kicker most certainly has been.  

Next Gen Stats Insight for Buccaneers-Cowboys (via NFL Pro): Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was efficient in the quick passing game against the Cowboys (16 for 18, 144 yards, touchdown) but struggled when holding the ball for more than 2.5 seconds (15 of 25, 159 yards, TD, interception, sacked four times).

NFL Research: Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, who has an NFL-record 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, posted five catches for 69 yards on Sunday. With two games remaining, Evans needs 182 yards (91 yards per game) to continue his historic streak.