Cowboys vs. Buccaneers: 5 Key Stats from the First Half

Tonight the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Dallas Cowboys under the lights in Florida. 

The Bucs are looking to help save their coach Raheem Morris' job by avoiding their eighth straight loss this season. 

With a huge deficit to climb in the second half, let's take a quick look at five key stats from early in this game.

2:24: Minutes into the game when the Bucs committed their first turnover

After a nice 25-yard scramble by Josh Freeman, the young QB fumbled the ball with only a little over two minutes off the clock. 

Turnovers have been a huge problem for Tampa Bay this season, and they cannot continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Romo and the Cowboys easily capitalized off of the great field position, expect more of this in the second half if Tampa doesn't limit their mistakes. 

0:18: Seconds left in the first quarter when QB Josh Freeman threw his first pass

Tampa Bay stayed true to form in the first quarter, attempting to play small-ball until they found themselves down two scores. 

In the second half the Bucs MUST open up their offense and let Freeman throw the ball. Although Blount is the workhorse of their offense, they have no chance of beating the Cowboys unless they try to unleash their passing game. 

1-5: Tampa Bay's third down efficiency

The Bucs have been terrible on third down throughout the first half. Although they have been able to leave themselves in a number of third-and-short situations, they have not been able to capitalize. 

Dallas has been excellent on third down tonight and this discrepancy has told the tale of the first half. 

58.3: Freeman's QB rating in the first half

This is pretty disgusting. The Bucs QB has been nonexistent throughout this game. To be fair, Freeman's terrible play is not entirely all his fault. Tampa Bay needs to give their QB more than two seconds of protection, Dallas' pass rush has been dominant early and don't show any signs of slowing down. 

4-4: Dallas' red zone efficiency

This is a troubling stat.

To make it even worse, three of the Cowboy's touchdown passes have come on third down. 

Romo has done a good job of extending plays, but TB's O-line has to finish off plays and get Romo to the ground.

Dallas' receivers are too good to have all day to get open.