Undrafted rookie QB Daniels savors moment, leads Bucs to first win

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  Jenna LaineOct 9, 2026, 02:36 AM ET

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  Jenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She started covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016, but she has covered the team since 2009. Jenna is a former cheerleader at the University of South Florida and speaks to the consistency of the program as being one of the top best in the nation.

Stepping in for injured starter Baker Mayfield for the second straight week, and doing so on a shortened week, Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels became the first undrafted rookie starting quarterback in the common draft era (since 1967) to win a game for a team that entered winless, leading Tampa Bay to a 24-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.

Daniels, the first rookie quarterback to start in the 2026 season, also became the fourth undrafted rookie to win a primetime game since 2000 and the second to do so on the road.

A six-year starter at the University of Kansas, Daniels completed 19-of-25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown with 23 yards on the ground. He was aided by running back Bucky Irving, who rushed for a career-high 165 rushing yards and scored a rushing and receiving touchdown. Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who had gotten off to a slow start to the season, also had a rushing touchdown and led the team with six catches.

"I mean, it means everything," Daniels said of the victory, which snapped the Bucs' 0-4 start to the season. "Six months ago, if you would've told me that my first win would've been on a Thursday night, Prime football game, I don't know what I would've told you. So obviously take it all in, like I keep saying, through all the highs and lows, the bads and the goods. Go through every single emotion because at the end of the day it makes you better and prepares you for any situation that comes down the line."

It wasn't Daniels' first win in the Lone Star state. His sophomore season at Kansas in 2021, he led the Jayhawks to a 57-56 overtime victory over Texas, sealing the win with a walk-off two-point conversion pass to walk-on redshirt freshman fullback Jared Casey. It marked the first win in Austin for the Jayhawks, who were 31-point underdogs in that game.

But Daniels' underdog status has never bothered him. This preseason, he beat out veteran Jake Browning, who had 10 career starts for the Cincinnati Bengals, jumping all the way from No. 4 to No. 2 on the depth chart. He wears his "UDFA" status proudly. When asked if he saw himself as a "rookie quarterback or just an NFL quarterback," he said, "I look at myself as if I'm a UDFA rookie going out there and just trying to be able to make plays. At the end of the day, I know where I came from and I think that's key -- being able to remember where you came from."

"Obviously, you don't want to harp on the past. You don't want to look too far in the future. You want to stay where your feet are, but you have to be able to remember who you are and where you come from, because at the end of the day, I think that's my main motivation and why I continue to keep being the person I am."

Mayfield, who suffered a dislocated right thumb in his throwing hand in Week 3, just had the stitches removed from his thumb this week. He did not require surgery for the injury, but stitches were necessary because of how his thumb bent upon impact. He did not appear to have his thumb wrapped as he stood on the sideline and was able to write with his injured hand as he held a clipboard.

Coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield would be out a minimum of three weeks. He has not resumed throwing yet.

"At the end of the day, I think that my job as QB2 is to be able to go out there and move the ball efficiently, but try to be able to operate as a QB1 is still in," Daniels said. "You don't want to have to change the whole entire game plan because I'm the one in and you don't want to have to try to change as much to all the communication with the guys up front, all the receivers and all the running backs.

"So for me, just looking at Baker, do everything that he did, especially in the preseason training camp and at the beginning of the season, trying to be able to emulate everything that he does. And I think that's what allowed me to be able to go out there and play confidently."

Daniels showcased his deep ball with a 64-yard pass to wide receiver Tez Johnson, part of a 17-point scoring onslaught in the third quarter. But it was Daniels going 8-for-8 and finding Irving in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter that provided a spark. Bowles presented both players with game balls in the locker room.

"I mean, like y'all said it best -- that offense is a very high-scoring offense," Daniels said of the Cowboys. "So, the more you're able to keep those playmakers off the field, the more you're able to go out there and get closer and closer to being able to get a win. And the fact that we were able to start the game that way and be able to gain confidence also for the rest of the game, I think that's where it catapulted from."