Countdown to Kickoff: Bucs-Cowboys, Week 1 2022

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener on Sunday for the second consecutive season, this time making the trip to Dallas. We are counting down the hours until the 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff at AT&T Stadium. After a week of preparation, here’s what it comes down to:

·      The Dallas defense forced a turnover on 17.5 percent of their opponents’ drives last season, second highest in the NFL. Dan Quinn’s unit ranked seventh in points allowed and led the NFL with 34 takeaways. The unit was spearheaded by Micah Parsons, the first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year and Trevon Diggs, who tallied an astounding 11 interceptions. Those numbers illustrate both the ball-hawks in the secondary and pressure produced by the defensive front, allowing the back end to feast.

·      The Cowboys’ defense generated 188 pressures, third most in the NFL in 2021. Dan Quinn maximized the skillsets of players in his arsenal in 2021, creating advantageous one-on-one matchups. He rotated players along the line to keep legs fresh throughout the duration of the season and it paid dividends in production. Micah Parsons became the focal point of blitz packages, harassing opposing quarterbacks on Sunday.

·      Tampa Bay blitzed on a league-high 40.8 percent of their opponents’ dropbacks. In Todd Bowles 3-4, hybrid system, players aggressively attack. He created multiple looks up front last season to keep offenses off-balance, with innovative stunts/blitzes along the line from a variety of places. During the offseason, the Bucs added to the unit with Akiem Hicks and Logan Hall – both of which will contribute alongside Vita Vea to work towards building an impenetrable front in Tampa Bay.

·      No team was more pass-happy than Tampa Bay last season, which attempted 731 passes. Conversely, no defense was thrown on more often than Tampa, as opponents attempted 680 passes against the Bucs. Tom Brady led the NFL in passing yards last season (5,316) and touchdowns (43). The Buccaneers will likely try to be more balanced on offense in 2022, complementing a short-passing attack with a dynamic run game featuring Leonard Fournette and rookie, Rachaad White. On the opposite side of the ball, opponents have basically abandoned the run against the top ranked run defense over the previous three seasons.

·      The Buccaneers will potentially be without two of their starting receivers in Week One…