In what could end up being a landmark game in the football life of Tom Brady, the Cowboys forced the 23-year veteran to do something not even he had ever done before.
The Bucs’ 45-year-old quarterback put up a staggering 66 pass attempts in the wild-card loss to the Cowboys on Monday night, the most in any game of Brady’s pro career, and one of the highest numbers ever seen in an NFL game, postseason or otherwise.
The Cowboys had come into the contest expecting a heavy dose of the air attack, with Tampa Bay ranking last leaguewide in rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards-per-carry over the course of the regular season.
So the mission of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s unit was clear: suffocate the notoriously quick-trigger Brady in the pocket, and simultaneously cut off his receiving targets downfield.
At the end of the 31-14 Cowboys victory, it’s safe to say the mission was accomplished.
“Defensively, I thought we were all over them as soon as we got off the bus. I think our defense really set the tempo for the game,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in his postgame press conference.
Brady ended the night 35-of-66 passing for 351 yards, with two touchdowns, an interception, and a 72.2 passer rating.
His 66 attempts were the second-most all-time for a playoff game and put him in very rare company for the most passes thrown in any NFL game. Only ten other men have ever attempted that many throws in a single contest. Brady’s previous high was 65 attempts in a 2012 meeting between the Patriots and 49ers.
“Take away the deep shots they got,” Cowboys linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons said of the defense’s strategy after the win. “We made them earn it every time. I think that’s the key. We made the adjustments, did what we had to do. [We] said they couldn’t beat us deep. We executed our gameplan for the most part.”
Indeed. The Buccaneers had just one successful play of over 20 yards on the night.
The Cowboys defense stymied Brady with two sacks, six QB hits, and 12 defended passes.
“We got our hands on a number of balls today,” McCarthy commented. “I know we didn’t get the takeaways we normally get, but most importantly, we were in position for takeaways.”
The one takeaway they did get, however, was monumental. Jayron Kearse’s end-zone interception ruined an early second-quarter Tampa Bay drive which would have (likely) given the Bucs a 7-6 lead and changed the entire complexion of the game.
“We just would not and could not ever let him get to within distance of winning that football game, because he just goes to another level when those things happen,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “That’s his [m.o.], that’s his background. We basically managed our way and performed our way and kept him looking uphill all night long.”
And that included new players, new personnel groupings, and new wrinkles from a Cowboys defense that wanted to make sure they showed Brady something far different from the unit the Bucs thumped, 19-3, in the season opener.
“Everybody kind of knows you have to get to the quarterback someway, somehow,” offered Parsons. “My job had to go to the extra step, and going back-and-forth, blitzing on the ball, off the ball, giving him different looks. Understanding that they were sliding and chipping, trying to create short edges. We got creative today.”
Several key Dallas defenders were brand-new faces to Brady. Rookie cornerback DaRon Bland played only special teams in Week 1, but he was on the field for every defensive snap Monday night. Safety Israel Mukuamu was inactive on opening night; he logged a career-high snaps on defense in Tampa. Corner Xavier Rhodes and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins weren’t even on the Dallas roster for the two teams’ previous meeting.
But all played crucial roles for Quinn’s crew Monday, holding Brady to a completion percentage of just 53%.
“The biggest thing we were able to accomplish coming out of the last three weeks of the season was really to get our defensive personnel flowing,” McCarthy explained. “We had some new players we needed to try out in there, and you could see it clearly this week where we were really able to get into a groove and a rhythm. Dan was spitting the plays in there quickly, and I thought our defense played with great pace throughout the operation. Most importantly, they performed at an extremely high level.”
And when that happens on the defense, the Dallas offense tends to follow suit.
“Complementary football,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said from the podium. “I mean, that’s the way it’s been when this team is on fire. And when this team is on, they make stops, we turn them into points, and we just have to continue to build off of that. When we’re able to do that, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Even for the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, throwing more times than he ever has before.
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