A video posted by TikTok user @daniel1caudillo captures one Dallas fan’s response to Thursday night’s loss: wearing a Dak Prescott jersey, the person takes a television outside and drives a pickup truck over it twice.
The Cowboys lost 24-16 to Tampa Bay, which had entered the game 0-4, according to Yahoo Sports. The Buccaneers started undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels in place of injured starter Baker Mayfield. The New York Post also reported on the fan’s video.
A Rookie Quarterback Spoils Dallas's Night
Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown while adding 23 yards on the ground, according to ESPN. Running back Bucky Irving had a career night of his own, rushing for 165 yards and scoring both a rushing and a receiving touchdown, per the same ESPN report. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions, and the second — off a tipped pass — helped Tampa Bay clinch the win in the final two minutes, ESPN's game recap noted.
The Cowboys dropped to 2-3 on the season while the Buccaneers improved to 1-4, according to ESPN's recap of the October 8 game. Dallas also lost star receiver CeeDee Lamb to a quadriceps injury after he managed just two catches for nine yards on five targets, the outlet reported.
Driveway Demolition Caught On Video
The video recalls an earlier incident involving a Cowboys fan and a television, described by The Atlantic in its coverage of videos showing fans destroying TVs after NFL losses.
The Atlantic's informal survey found that NFL fans account for more than two-thirds of the more than 30 television demolitions identified, and that such videos have become common enough to constitute something of a meme, regularly racking up tens of thousands of views and sometimes many hundreds of thousands. The outlet also noted that flatscreen televisions were roughly 97 percent cheaper in 2021 than they were in 2000, a detail that helps explain why fans seem increasingly willing to sacrifice their sets in moments of on-screen rage.
Not The First Super Bowl-Sized Tantrum
Dallas's driveway drama joins a growing highlight reel of fan meltdowns following crushing losses. A viral video appeared to show a Philadelphia Eagles fan destroying a television during the team's Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City — punching the screen repeatedly before yanking it down and stomping on it twice — though that clip was likely staged, according to Fox Sports Radio.
Similar scenes played out after San Francisco's Super Bowl LVIII defeat to Kansas City, when one fan recorded his roommate throwing an object at a projector screen and shattering it, while other viral clips showed fans attacking televisions with a bottle or smashing furniture into walls, according to Yahoo Sports' coverage of that aftermath. The Cowboys fan's driveway demolition fits squarely into that pattern — one more entry in a now-familiar genre of NFL heartbreak caught on camera.
Where to Recycle a Broken TV in Texas
Texas law requires television and computer-equipment manufacturers to offer consumers recycling opportunities, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The agency says it does not provide TV recycling services itself, but helps residents locate local options. The guidance describes a specific recycling opportunity for TVs; it does not say that the agency handles household trash disposal.
