Buccaneers rookie Jalon Daniels orchestrates wild upset of Cowboys in second career start

Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels has quickly become one of the most fun stories of the 2026 NFL season. When Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was sidelined by a dislocated thumb, Todd Bowles called upon the first-year player out of Kansas to lead his winless team.

Daniels made his first career start against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4, and hung around in a 17-14 loss. However, he became a national storyline by upsetting Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 5, 24-16.

It was the largest upset of the NFL season thus far, as the Bucs were 9.5-point underdogs. Daniels, on the other hand, became the third undrafted rookie quarterback since 1970 to win a primetime road game, and the first undrafted rookie quarterback to beat the Cowboys since Jake Delhomme did so in 1999, per CBS Sports Research.

Who is this fun quarterback that already looks so comfortable as an NFL starter? Let's take a look at who Jalon Daniels is.

Three-star recruit from California

Daniels was born in Lawndale, California, and attended Lawndale High School. As a recruit, 247Sports ranked him as a three-star prospect, the No. 61 dual-threat athlete in the country, and No. 298 overall player from the state of California. Daniels initially committed to Middle Tennessee State, but later decommitted and pledged allegiance to the Jayhawks.

True freshman starter

Daniels was one of three Kansas quarterbacks who appeared during the season opener in 2020, which was played in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic. He got the start for his second collegiate game, and completed 19 of 33 passes for 159 yards while also rushing for 23 yards in a 47-14 loss to Baylor. Daniels was just 17 years old at the time.

It was a tough season for Daniels and the Jayhawks, as Kansas finished with a 0-9 record. The true freshman completed 50% of his passes for 718 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in seven games played with six starts.

Back to backup, then a memorable first win

Kansas named Jason Bean its new starting quarterback for the 2021 season, but an injury forced Daniels back into the lineup. That first start came against the hated Texas Longhorns -- who were around 30-point favorites against Kansas. Daniels led the Jayhawks to a thrilling 57-56 upset victory in overtime, in which he threw for 202 yards, three touchdowns, and rushed for 45 yards and another touchdown.

Daniels showed off his ability as a magician on the game-winning two-point conversion.

Rock Chalk roller coaster

Daniels was named the starter for the 2022 season, which was his junior year. Kansas started hot, winning its first five games before eventually falling to a ranked TCU team. Overall, the Jayhawks tallied their most victories in a single season (6) since 2008, while Daniels threw for 2,014 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Entering 2023, Daniels was named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The college football world was prepared to embrace him as the lovable legend of Lawrence, but a nagging back injury suffered prior to the start of the campaign held Daniels to just three games. Even without Daniels, Kansas went 9-4 and won its first bowl game in 15 years. Running back Devin Neal emerged as a star, rushing for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns that year.

Daniels announced on Nov. 16, 2023, that he would be returning to Kansas for what would be his redshirt junior season in 2024.

"I'm going to be blunt. This season didn't go as planned," Daniels said. "But life comes at you fast, and sometimes your story's out of your control. But I guess that just means I have unfinished business. My dreams haven't changed, my goals are still there, and my vision for my future is clear. So you want something to talk about? Talk about this: I'm not done yet, and I'm not going anywhere. Rock Chalk."

Kansas had a rough start to the year, losing six of its first eight games. However, the Jayhawks rebounded to beat three ranked teams in a row in Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Daniels threw for 2,454 yards, 14 touchdowns and a career-high 12 interceptions, but also recorded a career-high 439 yards rushing and six touchdowns.

Daniels then returned for his sixth year at Kansas thanks to COVID-19 and injury waivers.

"It's all about finishing where you started," Daniels told CBS Sports prior to the 2025 season. "I went to multiple high schools. I went to multiple middle schools. Kansas gave me a chance when no other Power Five school in the nation gave me a chance, and I feel like that has a big part to do with it."

Daniels registered his second-straight 5-7 season, and threw for a career-high 2,531 yards, a career-high 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

"My Kansas journey has kind of been just like my life; it's come with a lot of ups and downs, and it hasn't been easy at all," Daniels said. "When I felt like I've been performing at my greatest, trials and tribulations such as injuries have come about. It's always just been about being able to bounce back from it."

NFL journey begins

Daniels' Kansas story didn't go or end how everyone wanted it to. While he flashed star potential, he left Lawrence with a 19-26 record and questions about his future as a football player.

Daniels finished his collegiate career ranked second in program history in passing yards (9,282) and passing touchdowns (67), and was one of two Jayhawks to ever accumulate 10,000 yards of total offense, joining Todd Reesing. Draft pundits criticized his throwing mechanics, accuracy, and ability to diagnose coverages, but what he could do as a scrambler was enticing. It all led to Daniels going undrafted, but he found an opportunity with the Buccaneers.

In Tampa, Mayfield was established as the starter, and he had Jake Browning as a new No. 2. Browning was once viewed as a top backup in the NFL, as he won four of seven starts with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. However, Daniels found a way to unseat him. The rookie completed 61.4% of his passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in three preseason games played and also rushed for 37 yards and another touchdown to earn a spot on the final 53-man roster.

Then, in Week 4, Daniels was presented with a massive opportunity.

From being an underrated recruit out of California, to the ups and downs at Kansas and his victorious fight to earn a roster spot on an NFL team, Daniels was about to start multiple games for the Buccaneers.

"I think that one thing I learned in college was, you can't be the thermometer, you have to be the thermostat," Daniels said ahead of his first NFL start. "You have to be someone who comes in and is able to set the temperature of the room, not test the room and try to be able to blend in with it. If a team is low, I have to be able to pick it up to be able to make sure that they're even. If we're high, then I have to be able to be low to be able to make sure that they're even. I try to be as even-keel as possible. I think that being able to go out there and have that even-keeled feel, the team around you feels that."

First NFL start

In Week 4, Daniels became the first Kansas quarterback to start a game since Frank Seurer in 1987, and the first undrafted rookie quarterback to start a game in Buccaneers history. Daniels completed 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while also adding 55 yards on eight rushes. The two turnovers definitely hurt, as they directly led to 10 of the Packers' 17 points, but the Buccaneers did have the ball in enemy territory down three points with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter in position to tie or win the game.

Despite the loss, the moment wasn't too big for Daniels. Something else that stood out from his first start was that Daniels was going to be able to make an impact with his legs.

Coming out party in Dallas

The Buccaneers were on a short week for Daniels' second career start, as Tampa Bay traveled to Dallas for a date with the Cowboys on "Thursday Night Football." The Bucs were 9.5-point underdogs, and Daniels was set to become the first undrafted rookie quarterback in the common draft era to make two starts by Week 5.

When Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott marched his offense 70 yards down the field on nine plays and scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the game, many assumed this was about to be a Cowboys blowout. However, Daniels responded by leading a 15-play, 73-yard drive that took up almost 11 minutes of game time, and was capped by a touchdown pass to Bucky Irving.

That drive for the Bucs was their longest (10:58) in a game since 2007, and the second-longest drive by any team in "Thursday Night Football" history! Daniels completed all eight of his passing attempts for 49 yards and the touchdown. Those eight pass attempts were tied for the most without an incompletion on any drive by a Buccaneers quarterback over the past 35 seasons! It was at that point that fans realized this game wasn't going to be a Thursday night snoozer.

The third quarter was a major turning point, as Irving took a handoff 72 yards down the field on the first play of the second half. Then, Emeka Egbuka punched in a 14-yard reverse to give the Bucs the lead.

A Prescott interception then gave the Buccaneers the ball back with an extra shot of momentum. Daniels hit a wide-open Tez Johnson for a 64-yard gain that set up another Irving touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 21-10 lead. Then, the Cowboys FUMBLED away the ensuing kickoff, and the Bucs recovered!

If that sequence weren't bad enough for Cowboys fans, Daniels converted a third-and-21 moments later, where the Cowboys dropped seven into coverage.

The Cowboys made things interesting after scoring a touchdown off a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter, but the Bucs defense came up big with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, picking off Prescott to escape "Jerry's World" with a 24-16 victory -- their first win of the season.

In all, Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown, and added 23 yards rushing on seven carries. He's off to a historic start in more ways than one. According to OptaSTATS, Daniels became the first quarterback since QB stats were first tracked in 1950 to complete 70% of his passes, throw a touchdown and rush for at least 20 yards in his first two NFL starts.

Daniels is embracing every part of his football journey. Even the undrafted rookie part.

"I look at myself as if I'm a UDFA rookie going out there and just trying to be able to make plays," Daniels told reporters Thursday night. "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."