Takeaways from the Bucs Loss to the Cowboys

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers conquered the NFC South crown for the second-consecutive year but made a quick exit in the playoffs following a discouraging 31-14 loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round on Monday night at Raymond James Stadium. The Cowboys snapped Tom Brady’s undefeated (7-0) reign of terror over the franchise, imposing their will at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

“They executed both sides of the ball,” Head Coach Todd Bowles said following the matchup. “They were great in the red zone, scoring and defending the red zone. Dak [Prescott] got the ball out and found some places, but we made our own blunders well enough to help them along. They deserve all the credit.”

Both clubs got off to a slow start offensively, with four straight three-and-outs to begin the meeting. However, Dak Prescott and his supporting cast found their rhythm, meanwhile, the Buccaneers never achieved consistency. Dallas dominated in the red area and completed seven of 13 third-down conversion attempts, along with two fourth-down tries. The Bucs were one-of-three in the red zone, whereas the Cowboys scored four touchdowns in four red zone trips. Tampa Bay failed to come away with a touchdown on two first-and-goal situations, including an end-zone interception by safety Jayron Kearse in the first quarter. The turnover halted the Bucs’ promising 70-yard drive, which would have increased their lead by one, 7-6, after Cowboys’ kicker Brett Maher missed the extra point. Following two straight punts (-2 yards, five yards) to begin the game, the Bucs had the chance to take command but instead, handed momentum to the Cowboys.

The Bucs had struggled to find synergy on the offensive side of the ball In 2022 – 12 fewer points per game than last year – and Monday’s Wild Card showcase became a microcosm of the club’s tumultuous year. Against Dallas, the question mark became, could Tampa Bay relieve Tom Brady of pressure by neutralizing the Cowboys’ pass rush with an effective run game? The answer became a “no” as No. 12 passed 66 times (35 completions) – the most in any game of his storied career.

“I think anytime you are the worst in the league it’s a combination of everything,” Bowles said. “There is no one thing that you can point to, to say we weren’t good in the running game. We just weren’t good in the running game. We will look at the tape, we will re-evaluate everything and we will make those decisions going forward of why…