Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Season Comes to an End, 14-31, Against the Dallas Cowboys

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made their third straight postseason appearance in the wild card round against the Dallas Cowboys. The two teams had met prior in week one in AT&T Stadium where the Buccaneers were victorious 19-3. However, Monday night showed that the two teams were very different entering the postseason as the Cowboys were able to win and advance to the divisional round following a 31-14 win.

Buccaneers’ Offense Looks Stagnant Throughout the Game

Tampa Bay’s first touchdown to Julio Jones did not come until the very last play of the third quarter. He also finished with 75 yards having one of his better games this season.

Tom Brady struggled to get in sync with his targets all game as he finished with a low QB rating of 24.1. Brady was leading the Bucs on a great drive, down 12-0. However, he threw a critical interception in the endzone to Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse.

The only receiver Brady seemed to somewhat connect well with was Chris Godwin. The sixth-year veteran had 10 catches for 85 yards on the day. Godwin now holds the franchise record for receptions in a season with 110, passing former Buccaneer great Keyshawn Johnson.

Despite Tampa Bay’s run game being ranked last in the NFL, rookie Rachaad White finished the year on a high note with a decent game. He had seven carries for 41 yards, as well as 36 yards through the air.

Dallas’ defensive player of the year candidate Micah Parsons was also a problem all game. He provided pressure on Brady all game. He gave tackle Donovan Smith headaches trying to block him.

Parsons on the defense’s performance: “We made them earn it every time. That was the key. We made the adjustments and knew what they wanted to do.”

The Cowboys also had a combined 12 passes defended, showing the confusion they created.

No Answer for Dak Prescott

Prescott had a career game against the Buccaneers defense. He finished with 305 yards while completing 25 out of 33 (76%) attempts. He also had five touchdowns.

Prescott ran for a touchdown on a nasty fake that fooled even ESPN’s cameraman, and threw for four. He threw touchdowns to both CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Tight end Dalton Schultz also caught two touchdowns on 95 receiving yards.

Schultz was not the only target to find success; Lamb performed well with 68 yards.

Another player the Buccaneers struggled to contain was running back Tony Pollard, who continued to have an explosive season. He finished with 77 yards while averaging five a carry. The game put Pollard above 1,000 yards on the season with 1,007.

Prescott’s uncanny game put the Cowboys all the way up 24-0 in the third quarter and the deficit proved too much for Tampa Bay to overcome.

The loss now makes the Buccaneers 11-11 in the playoffs all-time. It is also their first loss in the wild card round since 2008 against the New York Giants.

It’s also Brady’s first loss against the Cowboys in his career.