The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys will get their 2022 regular season underway as they meet up on Sunday, September 11 at 8:20 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET and will be shown on NBC.
The Bucs finished 13-4 on top of the NFC South last season, but couldn’t get past the Rams in the playoffs as their hopes for a back-to-back Super Bowl title came to an end. After a whirlwind offseason that saw Tom Brady retire, then unretire, the 45-year-old will be back under center for another season in Tampa Bay. This time, he’ll do it without Bruce Arians at the helm, who also retired this offseason and handed the reins over to former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
The Cowboys went 12-5 and finished at the top of the NFC East, only to fall to the 49ers in the Wild Card round. They traded star receiver Amari Cooper to the Browns, and brought in WR James Washington from the Steelers while drafting another WR in Jalen Tolbert. Washington is expected to miss the first month of the season after fracturing his foot in training camp.
How To Watch
Match: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Dallas Cowboys
Date & Time: September 11 @ 8:20 PM (ET)
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV Channel: NBC, CBS Sports, Fox Sports Network
Online Streaming: fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu, & Peacock (Try for free)
Watch in Canada: TSN, CTV & DAZN Canada (Try for free)
Team News
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It might go against everything Tampa Bay is about with Tom Brady back under center for a team that led the NFL in passing yards, but Run, run, run.
The Dallas defensive interior is soft enough to try keeping the ground game between the hashmarks with a power back like Leonard Fournette to settle things down.
Of course everyone will be wanting a high-powered offensive show like the 31-29 Buccaneer win to open up last year, but hammer away early, let Brady hit the third down throws to keep everything moving, and frustrate Dallas by keeping the offensive weapons on the sidelines.
That might be the idea in theory, but 1) of course it’s going to be 12 winging it around the yard, and 2)
Dallas Cowboys: Does Tampa Bay have anyone left on the offensive front?
The front five was decimated by injuries in the preseason, the parts that rotated in weren’t that great, and TB12 isn’t exactly the most mobile quarterback.
Tampa Bay was terrific at stopping the run last season and should be again, but – like the Bucs – Dallas needs to start out by giving it a try. The Cowboys have the depth and options at running back to get creative, the defensive front should be able to hold up.
Prediction: The Cowboys have a key offensive line concern and are thin at wideout for Prescott in a game where they won't have much success running the ball. That means they won't be able to keep up with Brady and his weapons working against a vulnerable and big play-dependent Dallas pass defense. Bowles' group contains Prescott while Leonard Fournette and the running game put the game away late for Tampa Bay.
Pick: Buccaneers 31, Cowboys 23