Antoine Winfield Jr. and Benjamin Morrison were officially ruled out Wednesday, giving Thursday night’s Dallas Cowboys game a firmer personnel shape. Tampa Bay will be without a safety and a cornerback, while quarterback Baker Mayfield and linebacker SirVocea Dennis are also unavailable.
The passing question is suddenly more interesting: Dallas has additional ways to attack, but George Pickens should remain one option among several rather than become the entire plan.
The distinction between those defensive absences matters. Winfield’s removal affects the back end and its coverage choices; Morrison’s absence changes the cornerback picture. Tampa must redistribute those responsibilities, and Dallas should be prepared to test whatever replacement structure appears. That is different from deciding before the snap that Pickens must receive a steady diet of targets.
Pickens has a persuasive résumé. In 2025, Pickens caught nine touchdown passes, with 1,429 yards from his 93 receptions. That production explains why an opposing secondary missing two notable pieces might make him look like the obvious matchup to pursue. But last year’s numbers are background, not a Thursday night target sheet. Dallas’ current passing offense has a clearer center of gravity.
CeeDee Lamb leads the NFL through four games with 37 catches and 498 yards. Against Houston on Sunday, Prescott looked his way 21 times, producing 17 receptions for 189 yards and the 12-yard touchdown that settled Dallas’ 34-30 victory at the final second. That is not a decorative statistic beside Pickens’ résumé.
It is the volume Dallas is already using successfully, and Tampa’s altered secondary should make Lamb’s involvement more valuable, not less.
The Cowboys can create a problem by making Tampa defend the whole menu. Lamb can punish coverage tilted toward Pickens. Pickens can make a boundary matchup costly if the Buccaneers decline to provide help.
Jake Ferguson has 12 catches and three receiving touchdowns, giving Prescott another scoring option. The point is not to guess which receiver will win the headline. It is to make Tampa pay for whichever coverage allocation it chooses.
That plan deserves respect for the defense it is facing. Tampa Bay permits 282.8 total yards per game, fourth in the NFL, and each of its previous three opponents stayed at 285 yards or fewer. The Buccaneers allow only 78.5 rushing yards per game and have surrendered third-down conversions at a 32.7% rate.
A depleted secondary can still belong to a defense that has repeatedly made opponents work for every meaningful possession.
The red-zone numbers sharpen the issue. Dallas has converted 81.3% of its trips inside the 20 into touchdowns, while Tampa Bay has allowed touchdowns on 45.5% of opponents’ red-zone opportunities. Those figures favor Dallas’ finishing ability and Tampa’s resistance at the same time.
A productive passing night therefore may depend less on finding one glamorous matchup than on Prescott recognizing how the coverage changes as the field compresses.
