[ad_1]
Getty Images
The reigning Super Bowl champions opened the 2021 season by showing that they are going to be tough to beat.
The Bucs had four turnovers and had a minus-three turnover rate. They committed 11 penalties for 106 yards. They allowed 451 yards. They had the ball for 8 minutes, 54 seconds less than the Cowboys. They won anyway.
Ryan Succop, just off the COVID-19 reserve roster, kicked a 36-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Bucs a 31-29 victory in an instant classic.
Tom Brady and Dak Prescott had a showdown for the ages, combining 782 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns. The teams totaled 882 yards.
Both quarters led two-minute practices that resulted in field goals. It was about who had the ball last, and that was Brady and the Bucs.
The Cowboys had a 10-play, 75-yard run that started on their own 10. Greg Zuerlein, who missed an extra point, 31-yard field goal and 60-yard field goal in the first half, had a 48- yarder to give the Cowboys a 29-28 lead with 1:24 remaining.
It was too much time for Brady.
The Bucs amassed 57 yards in 11 plays, with Chris Godwin getting his redemption. Godwin, who dropped a potential touchdown on the third down on one possession and dabbled in the end zone on another, caught a 24-yard pass (in which he may or may not have committed offensive pass interference) to the Dallas 18 with 18 seconds remaining. He set up the winner of the Succop match.
Brady completed 32 of 50 passes for 379 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which bounced off the hands of Leonard Fournette and the other on a Hail Mary. Antonio Brown caught five passes for 121 yards and one touchdown, while Godwin had nine receptions for 105 yards and one scoring and Rob Gronkowski added eight catches for 90 yards and two points.
The Cowboys, who were big underdogs, showed promise with their performance giving hope to their long-suffering fans that they will fight this season.
Prescott, who hadn’t played a game since Oct. 11, has proven his surgically repaired ankle is okay. The same goes for his shoulder strain, which kept him out of much of training camp and the entire preseason.
He tied his career high with 58 attempts, completing 42 for 403 yards with three touchdowns and an interception that bounced off the hands of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Amari Cooper caught 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Lamb caught seven receptions for 104 yards and one score.
[ad_2]
Source link