The Dallas Cowboys may have stars on the sides of their helmets, but they hardly appeared to be celestial beings in their 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. The performance was terrestrial, to say the least. In fact, the coaching staff would probably like to bury the film deep in the Texas tundra. But they can’t.
Nor should they. There were a few diamond performances which stood above the crowd, sparkling while others needed to be dusted off. They mostly relied on the defensive side of the ball, where Dan Quinn’s unit fought to keep the team in the game while Kellen Moore’s group struggled to find a rhythm with a severe talent deficit from their 2021 versions. Here’s a look at three players who stood out.
4
Safety Donovan Wilson
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The third star was Wilson, a starting safety in multiple formations, who had to step up further due to the injury to Jayron Kearse and the decision to leave backups Israel Mukuamu and Markquese Bell inactive.
Wilson had a good game with five tackles, four solo, an interception, another pass breakup and a QB hit. He seemed to be always around the ball whether on the back end or in the box.
Following the Kearse injury, the Buccaneers not only scored a TD to put their team up 19-3, but their defense stopped Dallas for a turnover on downs. Tampa Bay was at midfield with a chance to close the game out when Wilson faked a blitz and dropped right back into Brady’s throwing lane for an interception. Brady isn’t often fooled, but he never even saw Wilson, and threw it right to him.
Even though Dallas followed it up with a three and out, Wilson gave them one final momentum play to try and turn around the game. If the Cowboys were able to come back to win then Wilson could’ve been the top star of the game, but he still deserves the praise for making a big play.
3
Micah Parsons
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The first ever unanimous defensive rookie of the year got the second star of the game to begin his sophomore campaign. He had two quarterback sacks, another hit and two more hurries, clocking a 60% pass-rush win rate that dwarfed every other NFL player in Week 1.
His plays were made in enormous moments as well. With the team trailing 6-3 and the Buccaneers driving for a score, Parsons beat LT Donovan Smith around the edge to bring down Brady and make…
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