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About the Author: Bailey Adams

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Bailey Adams is in his second year with Pewter Report. Born and raised in Tampa, he has closely followed the Bucs all his life and has covered them in some capacity since 2016. In addition to his responsibilities as a beat writer, he also contributes to the site as an editor. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2019 and currently co-hosts The Pegasus Podcast, a podcast dedicated to covering UCF Football.

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After a long and crazy offseason, the Bucs returned to the field on Sunday night with a 19-3 road win over the Cowboys in Dallas. It was a fantastic defensive effort from the visitors, as Tampa Bay held Dallas to 244 total yards and a 3-of-15 mark on third downs. New Bucs head coach Todd Bowles got his first his way – with dominant defense and a strong ground game.

Both offenses initially came out firing, with the Cowboys first driving 54 yards in 14 plays before the Bucs finally got off the field on third down. Brett Maher gave Dallas a 3-0 lead at the 9:02 mark with a 51-yard field goal, but Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense answered quickly.

Chris Godwin’s first catch since tearing his ACL last December was a quick screen that went for 24 yards. Brady later found Mike Evans for a gain of 20, but the offense stalled in Cowboys territory. Ryan Succop connected on a 44-yard field goal to knot the game at 3-3.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Buccaneers defense stepped up following Dallas’ opening drive. The unit held the Cowboys scoreless for the rest of the first half, forcing three punts and forcing a turnover. With the Bucs already leading 6-3, Antoine Winfield Jr. stepped up and intercepted Dak Prescott in Cowboys territory. The offense, though, continued to struggle inside the 25. Another Succop field goal made it 9-3 with 3:25 left in the second quarter.

Tampa Bay’s defense came through with another three-and-out just before the two-minute warning, giving its offense a chance to double up with back-to-back possessions. Starting from the 10, it looked like the Bucs weren’t going anywhere. But on a 1st & 10 from the 23, Brady found Julio Jones for a gain of 48 yards to the Dallas 29. Yet again, the drive died there and Succop came on to connect on a 47-yard field goal, making up for a 36-yard miss earlier in the half to give the visitors a 12-3 halftime lead.

Coming out of halftime, Tampa Bay failed to widen its lead. But another stand from the defense followed, with Devin White flying in to sack Prescott on 3rd & 6. And on the ensuing possession, Leonard Fournette practically took matters into his own hands. Runs of 11, nine and 17 yards got the Bucs into Cowboys’ territory.

Bucs Qb Tom Brady

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Then, Brady found Rachaad White for seven yards and hit Evans for gains of 10 and 17, setting up 1st & Goal at the 5. One play later, Brady hit Evans for a touchdown, with the veteran receiver hauling in a fantastic catch. With Succop’s PAT, the Bucs led 19-3 with 3:23 to go in the third quarter.

The Cowboys looked to finally gain some momentum on their next offensive possession, driving into Tampa Bay territory as the third quarter came to a close. But after Shaq Barrett stopped Tony Pollard on a 3rd-&-3 run, Devin White broke up Prescott’s fourth-down pass to give the ball back to Brady and the offense with 13:31 left and a 16-point lead to protect.

The offense did the opposite of protecting the lead, quickly getting to third down before Brady threw an ill-advised ball over the middle that was intercepted by Donovan Wilson. With new life, Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense went to work from their own 48. Only Tampa Bay’s defense continued to rise to the occasion, forcing Prescott out of the pocket on 3rd & 8. He had Noah Brown open, but threw behind him for an incompletion. That brought Bryan Anger out for another punt, and the Bucs went to work on the clock from there.

The Cowboys got one final shot to make it a game, but the Bucs defense knocked Prescott out of the game. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush couldn’t get anything going himself, and the Bucs rode out the rest of the game to a 19-3 victory. Tampa Bay’s defense notched four sacks led by White, who had two.

Prescott finished the game completing just 14-of-29 passes for 149 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was targeted 11 times but finished with just two catches for 29 yards thanks to a suffocating Bucs secondary.

Fournette led the way for Tampa Bay’s offense, posting his best rushing game in a Buccaneer uniform. He carried the ball 21 times for 127 yards while catching two passes for 10 yards. Brady finished the night 18-of-27 passing for 212 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with Evans posting five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown to lead the receivers. Jones managed three catches for 69 yards and two carries for 17 yards in his Bucs debut, while Godwin caught all three of his targets for 35 yards before leaving in the first half with a hamstring injury.

The night was all about the Tampa Bay defense, though. In addition to Winfield’s interception, Devin White recorded two sacks, Anthony Nelson added one of his own and rookie Logan Hall found himself in the box score with an early tackle for loss.

Coming off of its first win under Bowles, Tampa Bay (1-0) travels to New Orleans next week for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Saints (1-0). Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.

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