Succop had only one field goal attempt the entire game, and he made it. Helped by what will go down as a controversial non-call (see below) that helped set the Buccaneers up for their own potential game-winning field goal that actually did materialize as just that, Succop took the field and showed Zuerlein that it's not about how many field goals you make in a game, it's about how many you don't miss. The 48-yard kick gave the Cowboys a 29-28 edge with only 1:24 remaining in regulation, and Brady took it from there. Credit Prescott for leading the Cowboys to the brink of a massive upset over the Buccaneers, and despite Dallas' final drive being pushed back by a couple of holding penalties, putting his team in position for Greg Zuerlein to try and delete his missed boot swings with a potential game-winning field goal that he'd go on to make.īut hey, Brady didn't care about that, either. All Brady cared about was having the ball in his hands with the game on the line, and he got his wish. By now, you're sensing a very real theme here: Brady didn't care. The Buccaneers couldn't get their running game going, but Brady didn't care. Prescott outplayed him in every category, but Brady didn't care. The Buccaneers highly regarded defense let the Cowboys romp over them for 29 points (which might've been a 40 burger if not for missed opportunities) and 451 total yards of offense, but Brady didn't care. Brady threw two interceptions, but he didn't care. I mean, I could stop there, but I'll dive in a bit deeper. And even after intercepting Brady twice, they were undone by mistakes made throughout the game, and an otherwise impressive outing by the Cowboys is now nothing more than something positive to build on.īe sure to check out the live blog below for any action you missed from an epic Week 1 clash in the NFC! Why the Buccaneers won Prescott finished with 403 yards on 42 completions with three touchdowns and the aforementioned interception - his passer rating of 101.4 being higher than Brady, who finished with a 97.0 on 32 completions with four TDs. That's when Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski went to work, adding another TD to the game's tally and daring Prescott to match serve yet again.įrom there, things got very spicy, with the Cowboys getting a total of four takeaways on the Bucs while giving up only one themselves (and INT on Prescott that was attributable more to CeeDee Lamb than the QB), in a fight that was a heavyweight bout from the moment they stepped into the ring to square off. Any questions on if Prescott could regain prime form are officially dead and buried, as are any that claim Brady might finally lose a step in 2021.Īfter seeing their respective opening drives stall - the Cowboys defense forcing a clean three-and-out while their offense left the field due to drops that derailed the progress they were making - both found the end zone and mounted a tie game at the end of the first quarter. Not to be outdone, Brady threw his own share of haymakers, but also got caught in a web of unexpected Cowboys takeaways and that's a category Dallas has been seeking to improve in for years now. On one hand, you had Prescott who, after suffering a season-ending fractured ankle last October and a strained shoulder this past July that saw him rest most of August, mostly play completely out of his mind. Heading into halftime, both teams were backing up their offseason promises of being a contender - at least from the offensive standpoint. escaping a nail-biter with a 31-29 win at Raymond James Stadium thanks to a Ryan Succop 36-yarder with two seconds remaining.īrady, Gronkowski and Antonio Brown simply wouldn't let the Cowboys escape their mistakes.
The Cowboys took the Buccaneers to the brink before their mistakes ultimately caught up with them - Brady and Co. Sure, Dak Prescott hadn't played a snap of regular-season football in 334 days and, sure, Brady won his seventh Super Bowl 214 days ago, but the past is the past and the present is a gift - this regular-season opener being exactly that: a gift for NFL fans worldwide. If you believed the Dallas Cowboys would be roundly thumped by Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, you couldn't have been more wrong.
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