### KEY MATCHUPS
**1\. Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb vs. Buccaneers DB Keionte Scott**
Seventh-year wideout CeeDee Lamb is once again showing the form that saw him haul in an NFL-leading 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023. Lamb topped 100 catches in 2024 last season, as well, but seemingly fell into 1B status in the Cowboys' passing game last year after the arrival of George Pickens, who had 20 more targets and 18 more catches than his new teammate. Lamb is definitely back to 1A status in 2026, as he leads the NFL in receptions (37), receiving yards (498) and receptions that produce first downs (28). He has also been remarkably efficient, as he showed last week against Houston when, on just 45 routes run, he had 21 targets and 17 catches. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Lamb's 21 targets were the most by any player in a game in which he ran 45 or fewer routes in the NGS era (since 2016). Lamb is a silky smooth route runner who can get open on all three levels and the Cowboys move him all over the formation. Last week, for instance, he had 10 receptions lined up outside and seven more from in the slot. That means there will be opportunities for all of the Bucs' defensive backs to line up against him on Thursday, including rookie Keionte Scott, who has taken over as the number-one slot corner. Through his first four games, Scott has contributed 10 solo tackles and a pass defensed. He has the quick feet and loose hips necessary to thrive in the most crowded part of the field and he also has a very aggressive approach to taking on opponents at the line of scrimmage. The Bucs have done a good job so far this season slowing down such big-play receivers as Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Christian Watson. Can Scott and company do so again versus the Cowboys' most explosive weapon?
**2\. Buccaneers G Ben Bredeson vs. Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams**
The Cowboys began a 13-month run of aggressive player trading last August when they shipped perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate to Green Bay for two first-round draft picks and Kenny Clark. A few months later, they flipped one of those first-rounders to the Jets as part of a deal for a different difference-maker in their defensive front, former Jets interior lineman Quinnen Williams. (The deal actually will send whichever 2027 first-round pick is higher between the Cowboys' own pick and the one they got from Green Bay.) Williams is a four-time Pro Bowler who was also a first-team _AP_ All-Pro choice in 2022, ranking seventh in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. He has one of the Cowboys' four sacks so far this season and is looking to recapture the form that saw him rack up 36.5 sacks from 2020-24, an imposing number for an interior rusher. The 6-3, 303-pound Williams is also a force against the run. He has seen the majority of his snaps shaded to the right of nose tackle Kenny Clark, which he is going to find Bucs left guard Ben Bredeson as his main antagonist on Thursday. As noted early, the Bucs have had surprising protection issues this season after reassembling the five-man line that ranked as one of the league's best in 2024 when healthy. That includes Bredeson, the barrel-chested guard with the power to push equally big defenders off their mark and the hands and feet to keep them from generating pressure from the inside.
**3\. Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson vs. Buccaneers LB Alex Anzalone**
Jake Ferguson ranks just fifth among pass-catchers for Dallas with 12 grabs for 83 yards so far, but he still could end up being a key issue for the Bucs' defense to address. That's partly because opposing tight ends continue to produce against Tampa Bay's defense, most recently with the Packers' duo of Tucker Kraft and Mark Redman combining for 8 catches, 71 yards and a touchdown. Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki produced five catches for 78 yards and a score in Week One against the Bucs and the Browns' Harold Fannin caught five for 54 in Week Two. The other concern regarding Ferguson is that he is a potent weapon in the red zone, where the Bucs' defense has been mostly good so far in 2026, allowing a 45.5% touchdown rate that is tied for fifth best in the league. Last year, Ferguson was targeted 13 times inside the 10-yard line, the most for any tight end in the league, and six of those became touchdowns. This year, three of his 12 catches have ended up in the end zone as he is second to Lamb for Dallas in TD catches. Alex Anzalone, in his first season with the Buccaneers, has long graded out as one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL. Anzalone has picked up the pace after a slow start to the season and how has 20 tackles, one tackles for loss and a sack. He diagnoses plays well, is comfortable within zone schemes and has the size and speed to hang with the NFL's bevy of big and talented tight ends.
**4\. Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin vs. Cowboys CB Joey Porter Jr.**
Chris Godwin proved to be Daniels' most favored target in the rookie quarterback's debut start, and that is no surprise given how reliable and quarterback-friendly the 10th-year receiver has been throughout his career. Daniels went to his most experienced receiver seven times and six of them were complete for 31 yards, and there's no reason to believe he will have a different strategy in start number two. Godwin is particularly adept at getting just the amount of yards needed on third-down screen passes, consistently weaving and picking his way through a knot of defenders. If protection issues speed up the Bucs' passing options, Godwin will be in position to make that approach work. Porter had a strong debut in Week Four after coming over from Pittsburgh in a trade last Wednesday and getting in only limited practice work with his new team. According to Next Gen Stats, Porter played 24 defensive snaps for Dallas, 19 of which put him in coverage, and he did not allow a completion on a single target. That include five snaps against the Texans' top man, Nico Collins, who otherwise produced seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in that contest. NGS also notes that Porter has gone 1,486 straight coverage snaps without allowing a touchdown, the longest active streak among outside cornerbacks.