Tampa Bay @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 18, 2016 ) Tampa Bay 20, Dallas 26

After laying an egg on the road, the Dallas Cowboys will try to clinch the NFC East at home when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Cowboys' five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt with a 23-0 loss at Indianapolis last Sunday, but the team remains in the driver's seat in the division and can sew it up in front of the home fans.

Perhaps just as important for Dallas is rediscovering the confidence it displayed while bouncing back from a 3-5 start filled with impressive late-game performances. "We had a really good practice, it was really physical," Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Jones told reporters Wednesday. "Guys were excited to get back out there and get rid of that last game and kind of build from scratch, just build our swag back. I'm excited to see what we do. I know we're going to come out feisty and fierce." The Buccaneers' remote playoff hopes were dashed with back-to-back losses to New Orleans and Baltimore and they'll finish with a losing record for the seventh time in eight years. Tampa Bay had a season-low 241 total yards in last Sunday's 20-12 loss at Baltimore.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Cowboys -7. O/U: 48

ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (5-9): Quarterback Jameis Winston's 157 passing yards last week were the fewest in his career in games where he played from start to finish, and it was the second time this year he failed to throw for a touchdown. He and fellow signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick have relied heavily on wideout Mike Evans, who was a notable Pro Bowl snub despite entering Week 16 with 1,328 receiving yards, second in the NFL. "I'm not disappointed," Evans told reporters. "I kind of knew the eight (selected wide receivers) midway through the season and it's hard to change that. You've got to do something spectacular to get in that conversation. But all the guys that made it were deserving. There were probably a couple snubs out there but it's just an All-Star Game."

ABOUT THE COWBOYS (8-6): The shutout loss had a silver lining in that it gave Dallas the opportunity to cut back on running back Ezekiel Elliott's workload (he finished with 25 touches, his lowest in over a month), and it may have provided the necessary motivation. "I think a loss like this was very much needed," Elliott told the media. "I think it's better for us in the grand scheme of the season, and I think we needed to get put in check. I think we needed a reality check and we needed a reminder that we still have a lot of ball left." The third-year pro leads the NFL in rushing (1,349 yards) and needs 283 over the final two games to set a career high.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Cowboys are fourth in the NFL in scoring defense (19.2) and the Buccaneers are 30th (28.8).

2. Dallas WR Amari Cooper had 32 receiving yards at Indianapolis after producing a career-high 217 the week before in an overtime win against Philadelphia.

3. The Cowboys are 11-1 at home against Tampa Bay.

PREDICTION: Cowboys 27, Buccaneers 18