![]() Two plays later, Michael Gallup managed to tightrope on the back end zone line to haul in the third Prescott touchdown pass of the game. ![]() With a pair of 26-yard receptions from Shultz and CeeDee Lamb, and a Pollard run, they had first and goal at the four. ![]() The secondary, which was a real source of concern coming into the game, really was doing their job, and the defense did not let the run get on track.ĭallas had a long field to work with, the punt going out of bounds at their own 14, but the offense was still red hot. The Cowboys were dominating time of possession partly because they kept getting the ball back from Tampa Bay. They got the ball to start the second half, but once again the Dallas defense was strong and forced another three and out. The Buccaneers failed to do anything with just :27 on the clock before half. Further, on the drive Jason Peters left the field with some kind of injury, forcing Tyler Smith out to LT again and putting Connor McGovern back in at LG. It was a sudden concern with no ready explanation. The Cowboys now had a three score lead, but it was 18-0 because Maher missed his third extra point, this time hooking it to the left. With both his arm and his legs, he drove the team down the field, and on second and four he rolled right again and found Schultz for his second touchdown of the game. Prescott was on fire by this stage of the game, completing eleven straight passes at one point. ![]() After a fair catch at their own nine-yard line, Prescott and the offense had 3:32 to work with before halftime. Todd Bowles has taken a lot of criticism for being too conservative this season, and he made the cautious call here, electing to punt. The Buccaneers got one first down, but faced a fourth and three at their own 47. A bit worryingly, Maher missed his second extra point attempt, pushing it wide to the right just like the first one. Mike McCarthy didn’t take long to decide to go for it and this time Prescott kept the ball himself, rolling to his left to walk untouched in for the score. Three plays later Ezekiel Elliott was stuffed from the one yard line, leaving them with a fourth down there. Ferguson got 35 yards to set up first and goal at the five. With a little up tempo, they go to the Tampa Bay 40, where Prescott found Jake Ferguson with a ton of green space in front of him. The offense took the gift and drove down the field. But just after the beginning of the second quarter, Micah Parsons batted a ball that he almost picked off, and then Brady was picked off in the end zone by Jayron Kearse. His best play was when he evaded pressure to then flip the ball to Chris Godwin for a first and goal at the five-yard line. Like Prescott, Tom Brady started finding receivers to move the ball. The Buccaneers started showing some life of their own after the ensuing kickoff. The early lead was marred by Brett Maher pushing the extra point try wide, but the spirits of Dallas fans got a big lift. Then Prescott found Dalton Schultz in the end zone for the first score of the game. Aided by a rare roughing the passer call for Dak Prescott, they got to the 22 of Tampa on an 18-yard Tony Pollard run. On their third drive, they finally got a first down on a 15-yard completion to Michael Gallup, and that seemed to wake them up. With the Cowboys starting, neither team could even get a first down in the first four possessions of the game, with Dallas having negative yards gained. But there was a lot in this game to encourage hopes that this playoff journey may have a bit longer to run.Īfter so much anticipation, this game could not have gotten off to a more sluggish start. That is a different level of challenge, as San Francisco is the hottest team in the league, and Tampa Bay got into the playoffs with a losing record. Now the Cowboys advance to face the San Francisco 49ers. None of that mattered as Dallas looked like a legitimate and dangerous playoff contender. Dak Prescott and the defense were both struggling in the final games of the regular season. They had experienced repeated frustration in the playoffs for a quarter of a century, especially in away games. They had never beaten a Tom Brady quarterbacked team. © 2023 New Orleans Saints.There were so many narratives that were brought up before the Dallas Cowboys administered a convincing 31-14 beating to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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