The Cowboys’ season ended before they could even play this week. Although no one actually expected them to reach the postseason, Dallas was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention early Sunday when Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a go-ahead touchdown with six seconds left to upset the Eagles.

A few hours later, the Cowboys began a prime-time showdown against a Buccaneers team that still had a lot to play for, but it was the Cowboys that looked like a team with something to prove. This game came down to the last minute, but in the end the Cowboys emerged victorious with one of their toughest wins of the year.

Things couldn’t have started better for Dallas, who started the game on offense. Cooper Rush came out of the game with his hair on fire, completing all six passes for 21 yards on the first drive and driving the team into field goal range. Brandon Aubrey easily hit a 58-yarder to make it 3-0.

Then it was the defense’s turn. Baker Mayfield managed to get a first down early, but Mike Zimmer’s creative pressure plans proved too much, forcing the Texas native to make erroneous throws on third and fourth downs. Just like that, the defense forced a turnover on downs.

Rush and the offense took over right at midfield and made two big plays in a short amount of time. KaVontae Turpin took a handoff for 12 yards before rush hit Brandin Cooks on the move for 29 yards. A few plays later, Jalen Tolbert scored an impressive touchdown and the Cowboys took a 10-0 lead.

The two teams then exchanged punts before Tampa Bay finally managed to score a touchdown. But Aubrey hit a 49-yarder to extend the lead to 13-7. Their defense forced another punt and the offense moved hastily down the field. Two ridiculous plays by CeeDee Lamb set up Ezekiel Elliott for an easy one-yard touchdown dash.

The Buccaneers managed to tie the score with a touchdown of their own, but the Cowboys had 48 seconds and all three timeouts remaining before halftime. A great catch-and-run by Jake Ferguson put them within field goal range right away, and Aubrey hit a 58-yard field goal to give the Cowboys a two-point lead that was 23-14 at halftime .

The third quarter passed with both teams making just one field goal, and an impressive end zone interception by Jourdan Lewis with six and a half minutes to play seemed to put everything on ice. But Rush nearly threw a pick on the first play, and then Dallas had an eight-yard gain on the next two running plays and fell short of first down, leading to a punt.

With four and a half minutes left, Tampa Bay got the ball back and Mayfield went supernova. He managed 75 passing yards with a 100% completion rate and also tried for a first down, finding a wide open receiver in the end zone with two and a half minutes left.

Since there were two timeouts and two minutes left in the warning, Tampa Bay opted for a regular kickoff instead of the onside kick. The Cowboys tried to surprise the Buccaneers with a jet sweep on Turpin, but he was stopped for a loss of one yard. Two quick passes helped shorten the two timeouts, but Dallas had to punt with 1:52 left.

Suddenly it looked like the Buccaneers could do it. Then came one of the most chaotic pieces you could possibly see:

The Cowboys’ swarm play on the pass rush, Mayfield’s determination to keep his feet moving and punch the ball to Rachaad White, and then DaRon Bland’s heads-up play to rip the ball out and recover the fumble. None of this could be scripted one way or the other, and it perfectly expressed the combative nature that Dallas has been playing with over the last month or so.

They came away with a tough win, marking their fourth in five attempts. They are now 7-8 heading into a road trip to Philadelphia with a chance at a winning record on the line. Playoffs are officially out of the question for this team, but you wouldn’t know that based on their performance in this game. These Cowboys officially play for the love of the game, and if Sunday night is anything to go by, they really do love football.