A confident team of Dallas Cowboys fans will take home the win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) – The Dallas Cowboys have a 31-14 win in their first road playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
One of the best halves of the season for Dak Prescott
15/20, 189 yards, 2 TDs, Rush TD #Cowboys lead 18-0
Both star quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Dak Prescott, are hoping their regular season woes pave the way for a Super Bowl run.
DALLAS (12-5) vs TAMPA BAY (8-9)
NFL LINE FANDUEL SPORTS LINE: Cowboys under 2½.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Cowboys 10-7, Buccaneers 4-12-1.
SERIES RECORD: Cowboys lead 15-6.
LAST MEETING: Buccaneers beat Cowboys 19-3, Sept. 11, 2022, at Dallas.
NEXT WEEK: Cowboys lost to Chiefs 26-6; Buccaneers lost to Falcons 30-17.
OFFENSE: TOTAL (11), RUSH (9), PASS (14), SCORING (4).
COWBOYS DEFENSE: TOTAL (12), RUSH (22), PASS 8), SCORING (5).
BUCK’S OFFENSE: TOTAL (15), RUSH (32), PASS (2), SCORING (25).
BUCCANEERS DEFENSE: TOTAL (T9), RUSH (15), PASS (9), SCORING (13).
PRESENT DIFFERENT: Cowboys plus-10; Buccaneers minus-2
COWBOYS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Dak Prescott ended the regular season on a game-worst seven-game interception streak. He has thrown a pick-6 in three of the last four games. Prescott Davis Mills’ 15 interceptions tied Houston’s three-game winning streak for most in the NFL despite the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year missing five games with a broken thumb. The Dallas offense was much better with Prescott than without, but turnover is an issue that could cost the Cowboys in the playoffs.
BUCCANEERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Tom Brady broke his own NFL record to finish a season with 490 while throwing for 4,694 yards, third in the league behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. But those impressive numbers didn’t translate into their winning record as the Bucs struggled to sustain drives and ranked 25th in scoring offense as Brady threw for 25 touchdowns, compared to 43 last season. There is no one who was better in the postseason than the seven-time Super Bowl champion, who holds records for most playoff games (47), wins (35), passing yards (13,049) and TD passes (86).
MAIN ACTION: Cowboys LB Micah Parsons vs. Buccaneers offensive line responsible for protecting Brady. One of the keys to the game figures to be whether the Dallas Parsons-led pass rush can make the Bucs star uncomfortable in the pocket. Parsons had two sacks in the Cowboys’ season-ending loss to Tampa Bay and finished with 13½. The second-year pro also led the league with 90 QB pressures. The Bucs’ offensive line has been a liability at times this season, in part because injuries have forced young, inexperienced backups into starting roles. LT Donovan Smith (foot) and RT Tristan Wirfs (ankle) did not play in last week’s regular season finale. C Robert Hainsey left the finale with a sore hamstring.
Key Injuries: Returning players matter more to Dallas than missing players. LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck), DT Johnathan Hankins (pectoral muscle) and C Tyler Biadasz (ankle) are expected back. Vander Esch missed the final three games of the regular season and Biadasz was sidelined for the finale and Hankins in the final four. … CB DaRon Bland did not play in the second half against Washington, but is expected to be available. The Cowboys already had season-ending injuries to CBs Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown. … In addition to Wirfs and Smith, Tampa Bay played its regular season finale without NT Vita Vea (calf), WR Julio Jones (knee), S Mike Edwards (hamstring/hip), CB Carlton Davis (shoulder), LB Carl Nassib (pectoral). It is possible that most — if not all — of them could return on Monday night. The Bucs are also evaluating C Ryan Jensen, who has been named to return from injured reserve after sitting out the entire season with a knee injury suffered on the second day of training camp.
SERIES NOTES: The Cowboys won the previous two playoff meetings, each in the early 1980s. Dallas had won seven of the previous eight meetings before Brady’s teams took the opener last season. Brady is 7-0 all-time with 15 TD passes vs. five interceptions against the Cows. He is averaging 277.9 yards per game passing in matchups.
STATE AND STUFF: The Cowboys are on an eight-game losing streak in the playoffs. The most recent victory was 30-20 at San Francisco in the NFC championship game during the 1992 season. Dallas won three of the next four Super Bowls. The Cowboys haven’t even reached the NFC title game since the last of those Super Bowl titles.
The Cowboys opening on the road in the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season, when Tony Romo flubbously infamously held a field goal that could have won in the last two minutes of a 21-20 wild card loss at Seattle.
Dallas led the NFL with 33 carries and became the first team since the 1972-74 Pittsburgh Steelers to lead the league in that category in consecutive seasons.
The Cowboys had 48 sacks through 12 games but only five in the last five games. They finished third in the NFL with 54 after leading the league in sacks most of the season.
It’s the fourth playoff appearance in seven seasons for QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott, who had a stellar rookie year together in 2016 leading to the top seed in the NFC before a divisional-round loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Prescott and Elliott have a 1-3 postseason record after last season’s 23-17 wild-card loss to the 49ers at home.
RB Tony Pollard had just 19 yards rushing against the Chiefs, but it was enough for his first 1,000-yard season (1,007). Dallas was held to less than 100 yards rushing in back-to-back games to finish the regular season, the first in 2022.
Ezekiel Elliott’s career-best streak of nine consecutive games with at least one rushing TD ended against Washington. It was the longest active streak in the NFL.
WR CeeDee Lamb finished the regular season with nine touchdown catches, the most by the club since Dez Bryant’s franchise record 16 in 2014.
Parsons had half a sack more than the 13 from last season, when he was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. But Parsons was limited to 1 1/2 in the last six games.
Bland finished second among NFL rookies with five interceptions. It’s the most for a Dallas rookie since Derek Ross and Roy Williams had five apiece in 2002.
The Bucs won the NFC South for the second straight season, the first back-to-back division titles in franchise history. Last year, they beat Philadelphia in the NFC wild card game before losing to the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
Since Brady arrived in 2020, the Bucs have won 37 games (including postseason) – the third most in the NFL behind the Kansas City Chiefs (44) and Buffalo Bills (40).
The Bucs defense has forced a league-high 16 turnovers over the past two seasons. The takeaway results in 72 points.
WR Mike Evans (1,124) is the first player in NFL history to begin a career with nine consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Chris Godwin (1,023) returned earlier than expected from a serious knee injury to lead the team with 104 receptions and his third 1,000-yard season.
RB Leonard Fournette has 555 scrimmage yards in five playoff games with the Bucs. Going back to 2017, when Fournette was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has scored a TD in seven straight postseason games.
The Cowboys are holding an official watch party at the Miller Lite House at AT&T Stadium for those unable to travel to the game in Tampa Bay, Florida.
The game will be featured on outdoor video and television programs, a performance by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and appearances by former Dallas Cowboys as well as the official mascot, Rowdy.
The event is also free parking, and if you’re looking for something to eat during the game, food trucks will be available. Gates open at 5:30pm, with the game broadcast starting at 7:15pm.
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The Cowboys are a 2.5 point road favorite over the Bucs for this Wild Card game.
Who is likely to win Super Bowl?
The best on the list are to win at +650 with the Bills right behind them at +750. To see also : Former moderate Dmitry Medvedev becomes Putin’s pro-war cheerleader. Behind the two are the current Super Bowl champ Rams at +1100, the highest odds of any team in the NFC.
Who is favored to win the Super Bowl right now? The Bills (550) and Buccaneers (750) are currently the favorites to win the 2023 Super Bowl. The top five teams with the best Super Bowl picks are the Bucs, Bills, Chiefs, Packers and Rams. See all NFL picks here.
Who is favored to win the 2022 Super Bowl?
How much are the Buccaneers favored over the Cowboys?
Who will win Dallas or Tampa Bay? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Dallas Cowboys, a final score of 31 to 14, in the NFC wild card game on Monday night. See the article : LaVerne E. Wagner. Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was chasing the eighth biggest ring of all time when the Bucs lost.
