Dak Prescott outplayed the GOAT Tom Brady, throwing for four touchdowns and running for another to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card playoff game on Monday night. It was the first time that the Dallas Cowboys have ever beaten the seven-time Super Bowl champion in his entire career. The Cowboys also won a road game in the post season for the first time in 30 years to earn a trip to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC divisional round next Sunday. Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 305 yards in the game and played turnover-free ball for the first time in eight games as the Cowboys (13-5) dominated the listless Bucs (8-10) in what may turn out to be Brady’s last game in a Tampa Bay uniform. Brady, who signed with Tampa Bay in 2020 and led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title two years ago, will be a free agent this winter. He retired briefly last February before changing his mind and returning for a 23rd season at age 45.
Prior to their victory over Tampa Bay, the Cowboys had dropped eight straight playoff games on the road. That last time they had won a road game was the NFC championship game in San Francisco on Jan. 17, 1993. That was a few months before Dak Prescott was even born!
The Cowboys played a near flawless game on both sides of the ball. About the only thing that went wrong for the Cowboys on Monday night was kicker Brett Maher missing his first four extra points, becoming the first player in NFL history to miss that many in a game. Maher finally converted on his fifth attempt after coach Mike McCarthy decided against sending him out to try a field goal from roughly the same distance as a PAT. An onside kick recovery by the Buccaneers late in the game was the only other blunder worth mentioning. Noah Brown on the hands team is not something Cowboys fans want to see after some of the drops he has had over the past few weeks. Aside from those unimpactful errors, it was a thoroughly enjoyable game for Cowboys fans to watch up until the last couple of minutes. The mood for both Cowboys and Buccaneers fans took a dark turn when Tampa Bay receiver Russell Gage was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field after an injury late in the fourth quarter. Gage slipped and fell to the turf while running a route and took a blow to the neck area as he went down. He was unable to get to his feet and silence fell over the stadium as players took a knee and medical personnel tended to him. Gage was taken to the hospital and was released earlier today after being diagnosed with a concussion per CNN.
The Dallas Cowboys won’t have long to celebrate their victory as they will have to face a red hot San Francisco 49er team on the road on a short week in the divisional round of the playoffs. The 49ers have won 11 straight games including 7 in a row since rookie QB Brock Purdy took over for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers also boast a 9-1 record at home this season and many believe that they are the team to beat in the NFC. The Cowboys have their work cut out for them if they wish to advance past the divisional round for the first time since 1996.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
**All Data and statistics obtained and verified through https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
