What do Tom Brady and wine have in common? They get better with age. There has not been an athlete that has done what the seven-time Super Bowl champion has done and he is not slowing down. On opening night, Brady and the Buccaneers edged out a win against the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 31-29. Let us dive into the details of this game, some key moments, and what is next for the two squads.

Game Details

In the win, Brady tossed 4 touchdowns for 379 yards in 32/50 passing. His leading receiver was Antonio Brown, who caught five balls for 121 yards and a 47-yard touchdown. Chris Godwin also had over 100 yards and a touchdown, while TE Rob Gronkowski chipped in two trips to the endzone as well. WR Mike Evans had a quiet day, catching just three balls on six targets for 24 yards in the win. As for the rushing attack, it never quite got going. Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette combined for 46 yards on 13 carries. Defensively, CB Carlton Davis led the way with an interception and three passes defensed. LB’s Devon White and Lavonte David both had over 10 total tackles in the win as well.

Throughout the entire game, the Dallas Cowboys committed to an air raid and stuck with it. RB Ezekiel Elliott managed just 11 carries on the day for 33 yards due to the pass-heavy attack. QB Dak Prescott, threw 3 TDs on 403 yards, completing 73% of his passes. WR Amari Cooper exploded for 13 catches, 139 yards, and 2 TD’s and had a game-high 16 targets. Second-year WR CeeDee Lamb showed out as well, catching seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. TE Dalton Schultz chipped in six catches as well. Eight different pass catchers had multiple receptions in this game. On defense, CB’s Trevon Diggs, and Jourdan Lewis both had an interception. DE Demarcus Lawrence and S Damontae Kazee each forced fumbles as well.

Dak’s Return

One of the biggest storylines of this game was the return of Dak Prescott. Prescott, fresh off a massive contract extension, suffered a gruesome ankle injury in Week 5 against the New York Giants last season. In Week 1, Prescott did more than enough to prove his health. While they did not win the game, Prescott had his team in a position to knock off the Super Bowl champs on the road. Brady just had too much time to get down the field and win the game. Regardless, Dak’s efforts in this game proved he is healthy right now and will now look to start translating that into wins.

Brady’s Game-Winning Drive

After Greg Zuerlein knocked through a go-ahead field goal to make the score 29-28 Dallas, Tom Brady got the ball back with 1:24 left. On the drive, Brady drove 62 yards down the field to put Ryan Succop in field goal range to knock in the game-winning kick. Brady completed a 20-yard pass to Gronkowski to move the chains and followed it up with a pinpoint back-shoulder throw to Chris Godwin for 24 yards, putting Succop on the Dallas 18-yard line for a chip shot field goal.

Early Season Rust

Despite the win, the Buccaneers, and the Cowboys as well, showed a bit of rust in the season opener. The game included five turnovers and a few dropped passes by both teams. Of the five turnovers, four were on the Buccaneers, with one coming on a Hail Mary pass. The other three were a Ronald Jones fumble, a Leonard Fournette dropped screen turned into an interception, and a critical fumble by Chris Godwin as he was going into the endzone to seal the deal on the game. Godwin also dropped what would have been a long touchdown early in the fourth quarter. For Dallas, WR CeeDee Lamb had a couple of drops, in which one produced an interception. On the kicking side, K Greg Zuerlein had a rough day, missing two field goals and one extra point. Thankfully, for both teams, there is a lot of football to be played, and will have three extra days to clean out some of the rust that occurred in Week 1.

Looking Ahead

Both teams will get a couple of days extra to prepare for their next game, in which both teams will be playing Sunday. The Buccaneers will host their division rival Atlanta Falcons at 4:05 PM for their Week 2 matchup, while Dallas will travel to Los Angeles to take on Justin Herbert and the Chargers at 4:25 PM.

Stats from profootballreference.com

Writer

-By: Richie Dordas

After a long offseason, it is finally back. The NFL Football season kicks off and features a game that many people will be tuning in to watch. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will start their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, who will look to get back to the playoffs as Prescott returns from a gruesome injury. Let us take a dive into the important aspects of this game and predict who will come out on top.

The Offenses

If projections are correct, this game should not be short of any offense as both teams have star power everywhere on the field. Starting with Tampa Bay, they will virtually have the same offense as last season led by Brady. The Bucs top strength of their offense is the receiving core featuring Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Scotty Miller. They also have TE’s Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard to support as well. Upfront, Tampa Bay has one of the best offensive lines in football, led by second-year standout Tristan Wirfs. If there was a weak spot on this offense, it would be the running back room. Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette will get the bulk of the carries, with veteran scatback Giovani Bernard factoring in as well. This offense is complete, explosive, and just flat-out good. They will be very tough to bring down when clicking on all cylinders.

On the other sideline is the Dallas Cowboys, who are poised to be an offensive juggernaut when everyone is healthy, which they will not be on Thursday night. All-Pro G Zack Martin will miss the game due to COVID-19, weakening the Cowboys offensive line in a big way. Despite this, the Cowboys offense is flooded with talent on the offensive line led by former all-pro T Tyron Smith. On the receiving end, Dallas features a trio of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup, who are all capable of having a big game. In the backfield, RB Ezekiel Elliott will look to bounce back from a down season but will have help in the backfield with second-year player Tony Pollard. In the TE room, Blake Jarwin will look to bounce back from an injury and Dalton Schultz will provide a spark as well. Both offenses have a ton of firepower and are as equally matched from a talent perspective as you can be.

The Defenses

With the offenses being close to equal, the defenses are not so much, with Tampa Bay having a fair advantage over the Cowboys on paper defensively. Brady and the offense get a ton of praise, but the Buccaneers defense is elite and can shut down even the best offenses. Led by LB’s Devon White and Lavonte David, the Bucs are lighting fast and swarm to the ball. Pass rushers Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett are the pass rushers, with Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh clogging the middle. In the secondary CB Carlton Davis is the top corner, while Antoine Winfield is the “centerfielder” of the group, playing safety for the bunch. The Buccaneers are the best team in the NFC because of their defense, not only their offense.

While the Dallas offense has a lot of firepower, their defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Cowboys defense struggled mightily in 2020 and will look to rebound with new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn running the show. The Cowboys defensive line is led by DE’s Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. Outside of them though, their line is a question mark. On the back end, the Cowboys have a solid unit with a good mix of veterans and young players. The starting corners are Trevon Diggs and Anthony Brown, and the safeties are Donovan Wilson and Damontae Kazee. It is not the greatest, but growth may lead them to more success. The Cowboys strongest defensive unit is their linebacking core. The room includes Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Keanu Neal, and prized rookie Micah Parsons. Parsons has a chance to become a captain on the defense very early and could be a massive spark for the Dallas defense.

The X-Factors

The obvious players like Brady and Prescott will play pivotal roles in their team’s success, but every game includes an x-factor as well. The x-factor of this game is OL Connor McGovern. McGovern, a usual backup, will be sprung into an important role with Zack Martin missing the game due to COVID-19 protocols. It is a tall task for McGovern, but if he can hold his own, it might make the difference in keeping Prescott upright and putting points on the board. It is not the most glamorous pick, but his impact on this game can make a world of difference.

Game Prediction

With the first game of the year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will defeat the Dallas Cowboys 35-24. The Buccaneers offense will be able to put up points and with Dak playing his first game back from injury, there will be some growing pains along the way. The Buccaneers are a Super Bowl contender for a reason and will show that in Week 1 on Thursday night.

Info from nfl.com

Writer

-By: Richie Dordas

As the Buccaneers enter the 2021 season as defending world champions, the entire league is eying the potential super bowl favorites for this season. Despite winning the Super Bowl, the Buccaneers were not impervious to defeat as their regular-season record saw them give up 5 losses. Two of the losses came at the hands of divisional opponent New Orleans Saints, the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Rams. However, what made Tampa Bay so special last season was the way the team finished. After a week 13 bye, the Buccaneers did not lose another game on their way to winning the Super Bowl. As one of the most complete rosters in the league, the Buccaneers look to maintain the type of continuity that has made Tom Brady led teams so consistent over his career. We are going to take a dive into the 2021 Tampa Buccaneers and how they plan on repeating as the World Champions. 

The Roster:

The Good

The key to winning football games when your quarterback is one of the best in the business is to keep him protected and upright. The Buccaneers have shown a commitment to keeping Tom Brady safe by securing one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. In 2020, the Buccaneer offense only allowed 22 sacks on the year, which was 4th best in the entire league. The ability to protect the passer made the offense click throughout the season and is the major reason why Tampa Bay was able to win so many games last season. 

The Offensive Line has a perfect mix of experience, youth, and health. On the blindside of Tom Brady, veterans Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith are durable guys who have been consistent over their careers. Donavan Smith has missed only two games over his 7-year career, while Marpet, who has also been in Tampa for 7 seasons, stays pretty healthy as well. On the other side of the line, young guys, Alex Cappa and Tristan Wirfs are among the best young guys at their respective positions. In 2020, Tristan Wirfs rookie year,  he allowed only one sack and committed only 3 penalties the entire season. This type of consistency is mind-boggling considering Wirfs was a rookie and he matched up against some of the best pass rushers all last season. 

If you get a chance to watch a Tampa Bay game this season, it will be clear as day why Tom Brady and the offense rarely go backwards and why they are the defending World Champions.

The Bad

With one of the most complete rosters in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t have much bad, let alone, ugly on their roster. However, the area in question for the Buccaneers is in their Quarterback room after Tom Brady. Tom Brady is the guy. Clearly. But if Tom Brady happens to get hurt, backup Blaine Gabbert is far from a guy that you would want to come in to finish a season. The last time Blaine Gabbert had an extended period as a starter was in 2015. During an 8 game stretch, Gabbert had 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, which isn’t stellar. Luckily, the Buccaneers don’t anticipate Blaine Gabbert having to save the team and with the strength of the Offensive line and the priority of keeping Brady untouched, it is unlikely this “bad” will not be an issue. 

The Ugly

The RB Room

If you were to look at media headlines about Leonard Fournette, you would think that he was the worst running backs in the league. However, before his 2020 as a backup to Ronald Jones, Fournette was able to go over 1000 yards in his final season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fournette is undoubtedly one of the most questionable young first-rounders still looking to create a long career. If Fournette can increase his production on the ground in 2021, he could potentially become a starter again with another franchise. It is unlikely he will ever take the starting spot from Ronald Jones. 

After Ronald Jones, Giovanni Bernard is listed as the 3rd Running Back. Bernard’s role in this offense is questionable. With Jones and Jones, two prototype running backs, Bernard is likely to be the third-down back in special situations. His role will surely be decreased in Tampa compared to his time in Cincinnati. 

Ronald Jones nearly ran for a 1000 yards in 2020, which was obviously not stellar, but he performed well enough to keep his starting job. Jones is also a young back and his contract year is approaching after this season. This can be a make-or-break year for Jones and depending on how Fournette answers this season, it could be a committee-type backfield this season. This running back battle will be competitive, but it definitely could get ugly

Writer

-By: LeMarkus Bailey