Cowboys finally beat Tom Brady as Dallas routs Tampa Bay

Tampa, Florida Dak Prescott was efficient as the Dallas Cowboys defeated Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in the last matchup of the first round of the playoffs on Monday.

The Buccaneers defeated the Cowboys  19-3 in the season opener, but Prescott's five touchdowns in all and a strong defence proved to be too much in the 31-14 wild-card game.

In the divisional round, the Cowboys will travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

Dallas Cowboys

Tom Brady's curse has ended.

the eight-game road losing skid in postseason games? Done.

Brady's personal seven-game winning streak against the Cowboys came to an end with Monday's thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which also handed Dallas its first road playoff victory since the 1992 NFC Championship Game.

The Cowboys put on their most complete performance of the year up to their 40-3 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 20. This effort may be just what the club needs to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995.

The Cowboys have been searching for that sort of performance ever since their victory over the Vikings and have laboured in victories over the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans while falling short in overtime against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cowboys have thus overcome the initial obstacle and will now try to build on this.

The Cowboys have been searching for that sort of performance ever since their victory over the Vikings and have laboured in victories over the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans while falling short in overtime against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cowboys have thus overcome the initial obstacle and will now try to build on this.

QB breakdown: Prescott kept promising that the interception problem will be resolved. Prescott believed it, even if it's unclear whether anybody else did. In his fourth straight playoff game, he ran for a touchdown and threw another, setting a postseason record. He became the third Cowboys quarterback with four touchdown passes in a postseason game, after Roger Staubach (1975 NFC Championship Game) and Troy Aikman (Super Bowl XXVII).

His assurance increased with time. His second touchdown pass, which gave the Cowboys an 18-0 lead while sprinting to his left and throwing across his body to the tight end, was a thing of beauty. Prescott has at least one interception in three of his previous four postseason appearances.simply played faultlessly. He performed admirably at crucial times.

Purchase breakout performance:

When opponents couldn't score 20 points in six of the first seven games of the season, the defence appeared to be the same as it had been. Micah Parsons was a bother, and he played off-the-ball linebacker more frequently than he did in the second half of the season.

Safety In Tampa Bay, Jayron Kearse intercepted Tom Brady in the red zone for the first time in his career. In contrast to their performance in the first meeting between these teams, when they gained 152 yards on the ground, the Buccaneers were unable to run the ball. With running back Christian McCaffrey, receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle, and rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, the Niners will be more difficult to beat.

Kicker Brett Maher was as reliable as he could be throughout the regular season, which is a troubling trend. Only three extra points did he miss. Monday, he missed four. In the regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders, he too missed his lone and only point-after attempt. His initial two errors were to the right. His third pitch was left-hooked.

His fourth missed the right upright's top. Elias claims that Brett Maher is the first NFL player since 1932 to have missed four extra points in a single game, whether it be during the regular season or the playoffs. So, there you go. As the Cowboys go to the divisional round, should they consider a kicker?Unappreciated fact: According to Elias, Prescott's 11 consecutive completions at one point in the first half eclipsed the Cowboys' postseason record, which had been held by Troy Aikman in Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

No second chance against the 49ers and no seventh Super Bowl victory for Brady this year.

Brady's club was ousted from the playoffs in the wild-card stage just three times before Monday, with the most recent defeat being on January 4, 2020, when the New England Patriots lost 30-27 to the Tennessee Titans in his final game with the franchise. Brady had won each of his last two wild-card games when playing with the Buccaneers.

Brady is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. General manager Jason Licht will work tirelessly to retain his services. Brady will have all the time necessary to make a choice since he wants to remain near his children. But whether they are in a "win-now" attitude or have to rebuild depends on his situation.

Concerns exist with the coaching staff as well. Although Todd Bowles is anticipated to return as coach in 2023, this wasn't the staff he put together. Could things change? Brady will be interested in knowing their plans for the following year.

Brady was frequently pressed, and the offence appeared out of sync despite the return of Pro Bowl centre Ryan Jensen, who provided the club a boost this week after missing the whole regular season due to torn ligaments in his knee. Micah Parsons was unable to be blocked by the offensive line, which prevented Brady from completing a pass of at least 10 yards in the first half.

Brady threw for 351 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception on 35 of his 66 attempts.Brady attempted to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone at the start of the second quarter, but safety Jayron Kearse was able to intercept it. Brady claimed he simply didn't put enough effort into the endeavour.

In 409 throw attempts, it was Brady's first interception in the end zone. Brady's first touchdown throw, an 8-yard completion to wide receiver Cameron Brate, came with 2:04 left in the game. His second, a 30-yard completion to wide receiver Julio Jones along the left sideline, was set up by Giovani Bernard's onside kick recovery.

The biggest flaw in the game plan was that, despite using their entire starting secondary, the Buccaneers' spoofed coverages failed to trick Prescott. They were unable to cover the tight ends for the Cowboys, and their pass rush failed to keep him in the pocket.

During the first tight end touchdown, Dalton Schultz was the recipient of a 22-yard pass. Mike Edwards, a safety, had one of his worst games as a Buccaneer, but Prescott managed to hold him off. Roughing-the-passer against defensive lineman Akiem Hicks was the catalyst for it. When the Buccaneers sold out to stop the run on fourth-and-goal from the one, linebacker K.J. Britt lost control and Prescott ran a bootleg into the end zone unimpeded.

The Buccaneers had absolutely botched their coverage on tight end Jake Ferguson's 35-yard reception earlier.With 27 seconds left, Prescott connected with Shultz once more for an 11-yard rushing score as Edwards was out of position.After lined up in a triple left formation with Schultz and Noah Brown, CeeDee Lamb also managed to score. Lamb raced wide open for an 18-yard touchdown reception while going unnoticed.

Unappreciated fact:

Brady's 66 throw attempts in the playoff game were the most of his career, and his 31 incomplete passes were also a playoff game record.