DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Cowboys haven't finished on the positive end of the turnover margin since 2018.
After Week 1 of the 2021 season, Dallas is plus-three after turning over Tom Brady and the Bucs four times on Thursday night, while committing just one turnover of their own, an interception by quarterback Dak Prescott that went through the hands of receiver CeeDee Lamb on a 'thread the needle' type-pass with several Bucs defenders in the vicinity.
Typically, if you come out ahead in the turnover department by that wide of a margin you expect to come out on top.
Add in the more than 100 penalty yards Tampa Bay committed (106 total) and the 450 yards of offense (451 total) the Cowboys put up ... that surely equals a win.
But on Thursday night, for the first time in NFL history, it didn't.
According to Bobby Belt of the NFL Network, the Bucs are the first team in league history to lose the turnover battle by at least three, incur 100 penalty yards, allow 450 yards of offense, and still win the game.
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That certainly wasn't what the Cowboys had in mind when they put an emphasis on creating and limiting turnovers this offseason after they finished minus-three in that department in 2020.
The coaching staff should be pleased with the team's ability to create turnovers at a high clip on Thursday, but they have to feel like they let a winnable game slip through their fingers.
The way the game played out would have been good enough for a win on any other night. But tonight, for some reason, it just wasn't.
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