Buccaneers’ Offensive Line and Defense Shine Versus Cowboys in 19-3 Week One Victory

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started the 2022 NFL season victorious over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. The final score was 19-3 as the team overwhelmed Dallas throughout the game. Head coach Todd Bowles was thrilled with the way his team played.

“I thought the guys did a great job with preparation. They were out there and made plays and they were focused all week.”

Bucs’ Defense Completely Shut Down the Cowboys’ Attack

The Buccaneers defense completely stifled Dallas’ offense. The only scoring allowed was a field goal early in the first quarter. They also held the Cowboys to under 250 total yards and held them to being 3-15 on third downs. The constant pressure on the backfield also led to the Bucs avoiding giving up the big play, which happened often last year. Tampa Bay allowed just 3.8 yards per play.

Linebacker Devin White looked in midseason form, recording eight tackles and two sacks. His presence was felt with constant pressure in the middle of the line along with the massive 364-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea. He contributed with a sack and a tackle for a loss. Lavonte David and Shaquille Barrett also added to the performance with three and two tackles, respectively.

The secondary stepped up big as well. They held Dak Prescott to 134 yards and a 48% completion rate. Antoine Winfield Jr. picked off Prescott in the second quarter as well.

A major story was how the Tampa Bay secondary could stack up against CeeDee Lamb, Dallas’s best option at receiver. He had just two catches for 29 yards on the night. The Cowboys could not even get Ezekiel Elliott going that much as he finished with just 52 yards on 10 carries.

Offensive Line Plays Solid Even With Injury Troubles

With injuries to Ryan Jensen and Aaron Stinnie, the Bucs find themselves in need to fill the holes on the line to protect Tom Brady and help Leonard Fournette. It did not help when veteran left tackle Donovan Smith hyperextended his elbow early on and left the game. The Bucs found themselves with a young, inexperienced O-line that had to live up to guarding one of the NFL’s premier backfields.

They did not disappoint, though. The line did an excellent job allowing Brady time to find his targets. They also gave up just two sacks.

The most impressive feat was how the line helped Fournette explode. He finished with 127 yards on 21 carries. He looked very patient when running and stayed consistent with finding holes and making plays happen. Even when the offensive line allowed pressure, Fournette was able to turn it into a positive with his hard-nose run style.

“Coach B [Bowles] preaching all week said if you hit the line of scrimmage, you are going to rush for 100 yards. This week that was my whole focus getting out quickly and rushing hard.”

Up Next

The Bucs will continue to stay on the road and head to New Orleans to take on the Saints in the Caesars Superdome next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.