The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rode a dominant performance from their defense, and four Ryan Succop field goals, to a 19-3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night’s regular-season opener.
Devin White’s two sacks and Antoine Winfield Jr.’s interception punctuated a stellar night for the Bucs’ defenders, as the unit held Dak Prescott and company to just 243 yards of total offense, and kept them out of the end zone for the entire game.
Anthony Nelson also got to Prescott, who was forced from the game in the fourth quarter after hitting his throwing hand on Bucs pass rusher Shaq Barrett.
Tampa Bay executed a balanced attack on offense, led by Leonard Fournette’s 127 rushing yards, his biggest single-game total since joining the Bucs in 2020.
Tom Brady threw for 212 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Mike Evans and Julio Jones combined for 140 receiving yards on just eight receptions. Jones had an incredible diving catch on a 48-yard deep ball from Brady, while Evans’ highlight of the night was beating Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs for a sweet one-handed touchdown catch.
Prescott finished the night just 14-of-29 passing for 134 yards, no touchdowns, and the interception. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by backup quarterback Cooper Rush, who was sacked on Dallas’ final drive by Vita Vea.
The Bucs took home the win despite losing two more key players on offense to injury. Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Godwin (hamstring) and starting left tackle Donovan Smith (elbow) both left the game in the first half, and did not return. It was the first game back for Godwin since he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 of last season. He finished Sunday night’s game with 35 yards on three receptions.
Tampa Bay is back on the road in Week 2 for a date with the division-rival New Orleans Saints, where they’ll look to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
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