Mayfield and Winfield Out as Tampa Bay Visits Dallas Tonight

Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr. are out for Tampa Bay's Thursday night visit to Dallas. The NFL lists the Week 5 game for 8:15 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Prime Video. Tampa Bay enters 0 to 4, while Dallas is 2 to 2. [1] [2] Mayfield is listed with a right thumb issue, and Winfield is listed with a rib issue. The Buccaneers also ruled out Benjamin Morrison with a quad issue and SirVocea Dennis with an ankle and foot issue. Those four designations are confirmed absences for this game, not pending entries. [1] [2] Tampa Bay is without four listed players Mayfield, Winfield, Morrison, and Dennis are confirmed out for this game. The report lists their injuries but offers no recovery date, return plan, or timetable for the following week. [1] Tampa Bay will turn to Jalon Daniels for his second start. The club preview says this will also be his first road start and his first NFL prime time start. That is the central personnel change for a game in which the Buccaneers will also play without Winfield, Morrison, and Dennis. [3] Daniels carries one start of NFL evidence Daniels made his first start in Tampa Bay's Week 4 loss to Green Bay, a 17 to 14 result. The Buccaneers recorded 148 passing yards, one touchdown pass, two first half interceptions, and 55 rushing yards for him. The club's preview also said protection trouble appeared on a potential winning drive. [3] That single game is the relevant reference point entering Dallas. Daniels is making start number two, not carrying a long NFL starting record into the matchup. The numbers show both his passing and rushing output from Green Bay, but one start remains a small sample rather than an established baseline. [3] Daniels' first road and prime time setting makes the available sample more relevant, not more predictive. His Green Bay game provides recent context. It does not settle how Tampa Bay's offense will function in Dallas or assign a result to the game. [3] [4] Dallas has productive offense and open designations Dallas brings a four game offensive snapshot into the matchup. The Cowboys rank second in scoring at 30.5 points per game and seventh in passing. Dak Prescott has 1,065 passing yards and eight touchdown passes, while CeeDee Lamb has 37 catches for 498 receiving yards. [3] The same preview gives Tampa Bay a defensive counterpoint. The Buccaneers rank fourth in yards allowed and have held each of their past three opponents to 285 yards or fewer. Dallas, meanwhile, has allowed the third most yards and fourth most points, with four sacks and no interceptions. Those are four game team measures, not a score forecast. [3] Dallas also has status questions of its own. Drew Shelton, DeMarvion Overshown, and Cobie Durant are out with hamstring issues. Tyler Smith is questionable with a thumb issue, and the NFL lists Jonathan Mingo as questionable with an illness. Mingo's availability remains a separate question from the three confirmed Dallas absences. [1] [2] The three Dallas outs are settled. Smith and Mingo remain unresolved designations in the published injury reports. That leaves a different information split on each sideline: Tampa Bay has four confirmed absences, while Dallas has three confirmed outs and two players still listed as questionable. [1] [2] SBA Takeaway Tampa Bay goes to Dallas without Mayfield, Winfield, Morrison, or Dennis, and Daniels takes over for his second NFL start. His Green Bay start offers a defined, limited sample: 148 passing yards, one touchdown, two first half interceptions, and 55 rushing yards in a 17 to 14 loss. [1] [2] [3] [4] Dallas supplies a strong four game offensive record, while Tampa Bay's defense has limited three straight opponents to 285 yards or fewer. The remaining Dallas personnel picture is not complete, since Smith and Mingo are still questionable. The useful divide is between confirmed absences and unresolved designations, not a projected winner or score. [1] [2] [3] Sources - [1] Buccaneers Cowboys injury report, October 7 - [2] NFL Week 5 injury report player statuses - [3] Buccaneers Cowboys Week 5 game preview - [4] Cowboys Wire Baker Mayfield injury update Related Reading - Steelers vs. Browns Tonight: A Thursday Status Check Before Kickoff - NFL Week 3 News: Four Status Checks Before Week 4 - NFL Week 4 Forecast Board: 15 Sunday and Monday Winner Calls