by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Sep 09, 2022
Game time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Where to watch: NBC
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Buccaneers -2.5
FanDuel: Buccaneers -2.5
BetMGM: Buccaneers -2.5
Caesars: Buccaneers -2.5
2021 season record
Buccaneers: 13-4 (won NFC South, lost Divisional Round vs. Rams)
Cowboys: 12-5 (won NFC East, lost Wild Card vs. 49ers)
A new NFL season is here and what a start we're off to with Buffalo going to the champs' house and knocking them in the mouth. What can we expect when the full slate of games gets rolling on Sunday? Only one way to find out: Get to bigal.com and check out what our champion handicappers are thinking heading into these matchups, and also get the right amount in your pocket for your winnings.
Buccaneers - Cowboys preview, analysis and prediction
Tom Brady is unretired. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still title contenders by some grace of the unknown. And the Dallas Cowboys are still a potential laughing stock within the NFL. As far as I’m concerned, everything is status quo in the NFC and the NFL.
Just like last year, the Bucs and Cowboys will open this season with a lot of questions on both sides. Both teams are coming off disappointing ends to their seasons in the playoffs, both teams have high-powered offenses that can carry these teams for long periods of time.
But with these two teams, it’s about narrative. It’s about another year where Brady can add to his already GOAT legacy. It’s another year for the Cowboys to try and at least make the NFC Championship Game. One of those may happen, or both may not happen. The thing we can all agree on is that if Dak Prescott and the Cowboys don’t make a deep playoff run, how many more years can Cowboys fans take?
Prescott will take on Brady, the ultimate pinnacle of the league and the sport. Prescott can still be that guy that can eventually be a Hall of Famer. In order to get better, that requires beating Brady on Sunday Night Football.
“You definitely have to embrace it,” Prescott said. “A guy whose resume speaks for itself, who shows up at his age and is still better than most who do this. The greatest to do this, honestly, to play this position.”
Statistically, Prescott was incredible the year after he had that compound leg fracture. He threw for 4,449 yards and a franchise record 37 touchdowns. Prescott joined the likes of Daunte Culpepper and Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks to have at least 125 touchdown passes and 25 rushing scores in his first six seasons.
At home, Prescott has been more of a beast. He had 23 touchdowns to just two interceptions at home last year. Of course that meant nothing in the playoffs, but alas, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.
The Cowboys won the NFC East last year and had all the hopes of making a deep playoff run, but they ran into a buzzsaw that was the San Francisco 49ers, especially from a defensive standpoint. Dallas responded in the offseason by trading Amari Cooper to Cleveland and entrusting the No. 1 duties to CeeDee Lamb, with Michael Gallup opposite him.
It would help a great deal if Ezekiel Elliott could get back to 1,000-yard form, but not everything is gifted to the Cowboys on a silver platter like Stephen A. Smith might want.
But until he officially rides off into the sunset, it’s still Brady’s league. It will still be Brady’s domain until they literally peel the man off the turf and tell him to retire. I legit think he might not retire until he hits 100,000 passing yards. He’s about 16,000 away. Still a ways away for the five-time Super Bowl MVP, but sheesh, he’s still doing things. It’s wild.
“I think we’re all getting one day older at a time. We’re all not sure whether we’re going to be here next year or not,” the 45-year-old quarterback said Thursday “That’s the reality for every player, every coach, every parent. You just never know, so we should all take advantage of the opportunity we have in front of us now.”
Prediction
Tampa Bay opened as 2.5-point favorite and it’s stayed about that way. Last year’s game went down to the wire. It went down to a horrendous pass interference call that went Tampa’s way. This goes differently and Dallas gets it done. Cowboys win by 3
Betting trends
Buccaneers are 17-14 ATS as a favorite the past three years.
Buccaneers are 2-5 ATS against NFC East teams the past three seasons.
Cowboys are 4-1 ATS in their last five against NFC South teams.
Cowboys are 1-9 ATS in last 10 when line is +3 to -3.
2021 Statistical leaders
Buccaneers
Passing: Tom Brady -- 5,316 yards, 43 TD, 12 INT
Rushing: Leonard Fournette -- 812 yards, 8 TD
Receiving: Chris Godwin -- 1,103 yards, 5 TD
Defense: Shaquil Barrett -- 10 sacks
Cowboys
Passing: Dak Prescott -- 4,449 yards, 37 TD, 10 INT
Rushing: Ezekiel Elliott -- 1,002 yards, 10 TD
Receiving: CeeDee Lamb -- 1,102 yards, 8 TD
Defense: Trevon Diggs -- 11 INT
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
