Through three quarters of the Dallas Cowboys’ 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 8, Dak Prescott completed 2 of 13 passes against the blitz. Todd Bowles sent extra rushers on 43% of Prescott’s dropbacks and created pressure on 40% of them, according to Sumer Sports figures cited by Yardbarker, and the Buccaneers did it without a single sack.
Two days before the game, HC Brian Schottenheimer told reporters that “the minute you think Todd Bowles isn’t going to pressure, you’re probably making a mistake.” After the loss, he pinned the result on protection.
“Well, I think we didn’t handle the pressures very well,” Schottenheimer said. “I mean, they were moving, and this is nothing new. We’ve been getting blitzed a lot this year anyways, so that’s no different. I think the biggest thing was, again, too many free runners. Dak was taking too many hits, and overall, we just didn’t handle their pressure.”
Dallas faces another pressure-minded play-caller on Sunday night at Lambeau Field, and Prescott expects to see the same plan. He was asked about Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Prescott answered in comments shared Thursday by Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic.
“Yeah, I mean, whether it’s copying them or doing some of his plan that he did when he was in Arizona last year. We didn’t handle the blitz well. So I’d be naive to think that he’s not going to. And let’s do it.”
Dak Prescott when asked about Packers DC Jonathan Gannon blitzing him more Sunday night after seeing the success the Buccaneers had last week: “Yeah, I mean, whether it’s copying them or doing some of his plan that he did when he was in Arizona last year. We didn’t handle the blitz well. So I’d be naive to think that he’s not going to. And let’s do it.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 15, 2026
Tampa Bay won that blitz battle by forcing Prescott to throw before routes developed, with the Prime Vision broadcast counting four untouched blitzers affecting him in the first half alone. Prescott has been sacked only six times in five games, so the damage showed up in hurried throws and stalled drives.
What Jonathan Gannon has done against Dak Prescott before
The last time Prescott saw Green Bay, he put up 40 points on a defense run by Jeff Hafley, who has since left to become the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. Gannon has faced Prescott three times himself. As Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator in 2022, he watched Prescott throw for 347 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-point Dallas performance. As Arizona’s head coach, Gannon held the Cowboys to 16 points in 2023 and 17 points last season.
In Green Bay, he has built his defense around pressure from unusual places. Cornerback blitzes were a regular feature of training camp, and he has used overload packages that stack one side of the line to break an offense’s protection rules.
An overload sends more rushers to one side than the line can block there, which is how Tampa Bay kept getting free runners to Prescott.
Dallas put up 30 or more points in three straight games before the Tampa Bay loss, and the Cowboys reach Lambeau with extra rest after playing that game on a Thursday. Green Bay is 3-2 and forced five turnovers last week, but that came against Chicago’s backup quarterbacks, Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum, with Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Gannon’s defense has seven interceptions and has allowed six passing touchdowns in five games, against a schedule that has not yet included a quarterback of Prescott’s caliber.
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