The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have opened the NFL season with a win over the Dallas Cowboys, 31-29. It was a thriller solved by Ryan Succop, who hit a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds to go, giving his Bucs a won on the opening night.
We’ve seen a fantastic game, with quarterbacks in the main roles. On one side, Tom Brady and on the other, Dak Prescott, both had one hell of a game, combining for 782 yards.
Prescott, who was under the question mark ahead of this game, threw three TDs and one pick, totaling 403 yards, 42-for-58, but his impressive stats couldn’t secure the win for the franchise from Arlington.
With 1:21 to go, the Cowboys took the lead with Greg Zuerlein converting a 48-yard field goal. Previously, Chris Godwin dropped what was supposed to be a sure TD catch, allowing the Cowboys to have the attack that was potentially a game-winning one.
But after Dallas’ field goal, Tom Brady took over the wheel, leading the Bucs to the perfect position for Succop’s kick and wasting enough time to prevent the response of the other side. Godwin caught the key pass in this drive, and the Bucs defended their home court.
Brady ended up with 379 yards, four TDs, two picks and 32 completions in 50 tries. According to all the players, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in Tampa’s win before the start of the final drive.
“There was no doubt that we’re going to win the game with him,” coach Bruce Arians said. “It’s just who’s going to make plays.”
He and Rob Gronkowski had a nice night. Gronk caught two TDs coming from Brady, and these two now have 100 TD connections and are 14 short of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison.
Apart from these two scores, Brady threw one to Godwin, and the bad boy of the gridiron, Antonio Brown, who was masterful in tonight’s event. AB’s TD was 47 yards long, and the several-time All-Pro receiver ended the match with 121 yards in five receptions. Godwin had 105 in nine and Gronk 90 in eight.
Antonio Brown “Boomin University.” https://t.co/R0P7BtnoHN
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 10, 2021
On the other side, Amari Cooper also had two TDs, catching the football 13 times for 139 yards. CeeDee Lamb put his name in the scoring column once, ending the night with 104 yards in seven catches. Ezekiel Elliott was a big disappointment, having 11 rushes and only 33 yards. The Cowboys were bad on the ground with 60 yards in 18 runs. The hosts haven’t been better, 14 snaps for 52 yards.
However, Prescott’s superb match is something that encourages the Cowboys’ fans. Dak had issues with his throwing shoulder during the preseason, and for the moment, many believed that he might even skip the opening game.
The analysts all agree that if Prescott continues to play like this, his Dallas will have nice chances to win the NFC East and reach the playoffs.
“I think when you invest that much work in rehab and prehab and just everything that has gone into the last 11 months for me to get on the field, I mean I’m not surprised about the way that I went out there and fought,” Cowboys’ QB said following the game.
Up next, Dallas travels to LA, to meet the Chargers next week. Meanwhile, the Bucs are staying at home to meet with the Atlanta Falcons.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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