After a painful exit from the playoffs almost a year ago, the Bucs once again hosted a playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night. Last January, Tampa Bay erased a 27-3 deficit only to lose late. This time around, there was no semblance of a comeback at any point as the Cowboys rolled to a 31-14 win, utterly embarrassing the Bucs in the process of advancing to the NFC Divisional Round.

The defenses dominated early, with the two offenses splitting four punts between them in the game’s first five minutes. From there, Dallas got moving. Dak Prescott connected with Michael Gallup for a first down to get the drive started before a roughing the passer call on Akiem Hicks got the ball across midfield for the first time all night. Tony Pollard followed that up with an 18-yard run to the Bucs’ 22, and two plays later, Prescott hit a wide-open Dalton Schultz for a 22-yard touchdown. After a missed PAT, the visitors’ lead was 6-0.

Cowboys DB Jayron Kearse – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay responded well initially, driving right down the field on Dallas with a few third-down conversions. But then, inexplicably, Brady threw a pass up into the end zone that was intercepted by Jayron Kearse. It was Brady’s first red zone interception since 2019, a streak that spanned back to his time in New England. With that, the Cowboys’ lead remained intact early in the second quarter.

Dallas took advantage of the red zone turnover, too, converting three third downs and using a 34-yard pass from Prescott to tight end Jake Ferguson to set up 1st & Goal. And while the Bucs got the Cowboys to fourth down, Prescott took a play-action bootleg in for six to cap off a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took 8:38 off the clock. Brett Maher missed another PAT, keeping it 12-0 with 6:13 left in the first half.

Brady and the offense couldn’t get anything going on their next drive, which led to Jake Camarda’s third punt in four first-half possessions. All Dallas did from there was drive 91 yards in 11 plays, with Prescott finding Schultz for an 11-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys up 18-0 before halftime. Maher missed a third extra point in a row after the score, but Tampa Bay still went into the locker room down by three possessions.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Coming out of halftime, the Bucs tried going to the often-reliable no-huddle offense, but to no avail. They went three-and-out in less than a minute, kicking the ball back to Dallas already down 18. And the Cowboys poured it on, going 86 yards in eight plays before extending their lead on a two-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Gallup. Maher missed his fourth straight extra point, but at 24-o, it hardly mattered.

The two teams traded punts from there, with Dallas’ punt pinning the Bucs back at their own 5-yard line with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. They converted an early 3rd & 7 before Brady connected with Chris Godwin to the 35. Passes to Russell Gage and Julio Jones got them to midfield, then three plays later, Brady and Evans linked up for 18 yards. And on the last play of the third quarter, Brady unloaded a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jones. But the two-point conversion try failed, so the Bucs still trailed by 18 after a 10-play, 95-yard drive.

If that felt like a comeback was in the works, Dallas quickly put an end to it. Prescott led a nine-play, 66-yard drive and finished it off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open CeeDee Lamb on fourth down. With a successful PAT, the Cowboys went up 31-6 with 10:33 to play.

The two teams traded possessions with no scoring from there until a scary moment at the 2:55 mark, when Russell Gage stayed down on the field after an incomplete pass. He tried to get up, but couldn’t. In an all-too-familiar scene, players kneeled around him and the stadium fell silent before he was carted off on a backboard.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Just before the two-minute warning, Brady hit Cameron Brate for an eight-yard touchdown. With the two-point conversion, the Bucs got within 31-14. But that was it from there, even after Giovani Bernard recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The game ended with the Cowboys celebrating their first road playoff win since the 1992 NFC Championship Game and the Bucs hanging their heads as their extremely frustrating and disappointing season came to an early end.

Brady was under pressure all night, and he finished 35-of-66 for 351 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Godwin was his leading receiver, catching 10 passes for 85 yards. The Bucs managed just 52 rushing yards on 12 attempts, good for a 4.3-yard average. Meanwhile, Dallas put up 425 yards, with Prescott going 25-of-33 for 305 yards and five total touchdowns. Schultz caught seven passes for 95 yards and two scores.

After their first-round exit, the Bucs will enter another offseason full of questions and changes. Whether or not Brady returns is likely to be the biggest question, and everything else is sure to fall into place based on the answer.