In the battle of blue bloods, Monday night's wild card game features the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have the chance to take a step toward changing the plot to a possible heroic ending in Monday’s NFC wild card game by defeating Tom Brady, who has never lost to the Cowboys.
This matchup is a rematch of the opening game of the season that saw Tampa Bay go into Dallas and come out with a 19-3 victory at AT&T Stadium. That was the same night that left Dak Prescott left the game with a hand injury that sidelined him for several weeks. Prescott made his return to the field in Week 7 against the Lions.
This was easily the most frustrating season of Prescott's career, but he said it's all about embracing the moment.
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“I’ve just got to go win the game, do everything I can and leave no doubt in my preparation to make sure I’m putting this team in the best chance to do that,’’ Prescott said. “We’re all judged off of wins and wins in the playoffs. These matter. I know that."
“So, it’s not necessarily that it’s pressure, but you’ve got to love playing in these moments. You’ve got to love being in games like this. And if you don’t, this league, this sport, this isn’t the place for you. And so, for me, it’s about embracing the moment.”
Blue Star
The center of the Dallas Cowboys universe.
Prescott has the Cowboys in the playoffs with a 12-5 record for a second straight season and is the first Cowboys quarterback to do so since Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion Troy Aikman. He is also coming off a season in which tied for the NFL lead with a career-high 15 interceptions, including a streak of seven straight games with a pick to end the season, as well as three games with a pick-six.
He could finish with a star-crossed career with stats like Cowboys passing leader Tony Romo or live up to the legend of Aikman and Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion Roger Staubach. Either way, Prescott isn’t running from the pressure.
“I want to win the championships and win the titles and everything that they did and all the games, put this team in that position,’’ said Prescott, who has a 1-3 record in three previous trips to the playoffs. “But I can’t say that’s at the forefront of my mind as I’m thinking about what those guys have done, what the great quarterbacks here have done before me. I can’t necessarily … It’s about focusing on the now and knowing what I can do, what I’m capable of doing and the opportunity this team has in front of them.’’
Ever since Prescott took over for Romo as an unknown fourth-round pick in 2016, fashioning one of finest rookie seasons in NFL history, he was known as a quarterback who played mistake-free football.
To throw 15 interceptions in just 12 games and have at least one pick in 10 games while ending the season with the seven-game streak is uncharacteristic. That doesn’t include arguably the worst performance of his career in the season-ending loss to the Commanders.
“When something is uncharacteristic it’s about getting back and doing the things that you know who you are,” Prescott said. “And that’s the study and that’s the preparation. That’s making sure I’m doing everything I need to mentally to leave no doubt and respond the right way.”
I’ve got the opportunity to respond. that’s all we can be thankful for; is to have that opportunity to respond.
Dak Prescott
PRESCOTT'S TEAMMATES BELIEVE IN HIM
“I expect Dak’s best,’’ running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “That’s just the type of player Dak is, that’s the type of work he puts in. I mean, I look forward to seeing him play his best football.’’
Said receiver Michael Gallup: “He’s going to come out here and do what he always does. Never lose faith in 4.’’
Offensive tackle Tyron Smith: “Expect him to be great like he always is. He does everything he can to prepare himself.”
“I think as a team we respond and definitely as a quarterback and the leader and the face, he’s definitely built that way,” coach Mike McCarthy said. "I haven’t even thought about it. I have zero concern about him.’’
“We recognize the great players, the great teams, the great coaches and the great seasons, the Super Bowl championships,’’ McCarthy said. “It’s part of our everyday environment here.
“At the end of the day, we’re totally tied into our culture, what we’re about, what we’re focused on getting done and number one is to win in Tampa. That’s really all that matters.’’
CAN RECENT TRENDS HELP BUCK ROAD HISTORY?
Monday's playoff game is in Tampa. Over the last three decades, the Cowboys do not have a good postseason road record. To put it simply, they haven't won on the road in 30 years.
The last time the Dallas Cowboys won a road playoff game was Jan. 17, 1993, when they beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. That team, of course, went on to beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.
Since 1994, the Cowboys have lost every road playoff game they've played including losses to the 49ers (1994), Panthers (1996), Vikings (1999), Panthers (2003), Seahawks (2006), Vikings (2010), Packers (2014) and the Rams (2018).
This year, the loss to the Buccaneers in Week 1 was followed by four straight wins, the loss to the Eagles was followed by two wins, the loss to the Packers in Week 10 was followed by four straight wins and the loss to the Jaguars was followed by two wins. If the Cowboys can continue that pattern following the season-ending loss to Washington and win four straight, they will be Super Bowl champions for the first time since 1995.
BRADY-LED BUCCANEERS PRIMED TO HOST COWBOYS IN NFC WILD CARD GAME
As for the Bucs, their offense has muddled through the regular season but has shown signs of life when they are at full strength. They have also dealt with a multitude of injuries this season and hope to return a lot of those players for the wild card game.
Tom Brady isn’t at all fazed by being a home underdog in the NFL playoffs for the first time in his career. After all, no one has enjoyed more postseason success than the seven-time Super Bowl champion, who begins his quest for a record eighth ring in the NFC wild card matchup.
Brady owns a slew of playoff records, including most games played (47), wins (35), passing yards (13,049), touchdown passes (86) and Super Bowl appearances (10).
The famed quarterback, who’s in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season, has more going for him:
Despite being 45 years old, Tom Brady eclipsed 4,000 yards passing for the sixth consecutive season in 2022. He ranked third in the NFL with 4,694 yards, trailing only Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
The Bucs also beat the Cowboys and Dak Prescott 31-29 in Tampa to open the 2021 season. The star quarterback played down his perfect record against the favored Cowboys.
“For me, it’s just a blessing to have those types of memories and experiences. I’ve been very blessed to be a part of great teams that got to this point and then had a lot of big wins,” said Brady, who joined the Bucs in 2020 after a historic two-decade run that saw him win six NFL titles with the New England Patriots.
“They’ve got a great team,” Brady said of facing the Cowboys, who have rebounded from not only dropping the season opener to Tampa Bay but also losing Prescott for five weeks with a fractured right thumb suffered in that game, to earn the top wild card spot in the NFC.
“I’ve played them quite a bit over the years and I have a lot of respect for the organization, their history, a lot of great players. But all of its about three hours on Monday night,” he added.
The Bucs ended a 13-year hiatus from the playoffs and became the first team to win a Super Bowl played in its home stadium in their first season with Brady. They lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round at home a year ago.
“Everything’s going to come down to what we do those three hours. Nothing in the past, nothing about the color jerseys we’re wearing. It’s who’s playing, what we’re doing, how we’re executing, how we’re executing under pressure. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
Still, Tampa Bay’s 5-1 record over the past two postseasons is the best in the league. Despite winning four fewer games than Dallas and finishing the regular season with a losing record, the Bucs are hosting Monday night’s game because they repeated as NFC South champs.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE WINNER?
Whoever scores last and controls the turnover battle should be the team moving on to face the San Francisco 49ers in the next round.
(Kick-off time for the Cowboys-Buccaneers wild card game is set for 7:15 p.m. CT. Here’s how to watch it.)
