The Bucs and Cowboys will meet at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night to wrap up the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend. At 8-9, Tampa Bay may come into the matchup as home underdogs against 12-5 Dallas, but there are reasons to like the chances for Todd Bowles’ team to emerge victorious and make its way into the NFC Divisional Round.

Part of the reason for that lies with the Cowboys’ playoff track record, especially on the road. But another aspect is what Bowles’ defense was able to do against Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense all the way back in Week 1. Yes, these two teams are familiar with each other, and yes, Prescott is certainly familiar with members of the Bucs defense.

Tampa Bay held Dallas to three points at AT&T Stadium back in September, with Prescott completing just 14 of his 29 passes for 134 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Carlton Davis and Co. shut down CeeDee Lamb, with the talented receiver posting just two catches for 29 yards on 11 targets. And while the Cowboys ran Ezekiel Elliott for 5.2 yards per carry, his 10 rushes for 52 yards didn’t do any damage as the Bucs got Bowles his first win as their head coach.

The Bucs’ Key To Limiting Prescott In Week 1

So, how did the defense handle Prescott and the offense so well back in Week 1? And how can that unit do the same on Monday night in a win-or-go-home game? There are multiple answers to that question, but one of the more significant ones can be summed up pretty well by a certain Queen/David Bowie collaboration of the early 1980s.

Bucs NT Vita Vea, OLB Shaquil Barrett and DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Prescott was under pressure all throughout that Week 1 game, as was Cooper Rush when he entered the game late. Tampa Bay pressured Dallas quarterbacks on nearly 40% of snaps, totaling four sacks, four quarterback hits and 11 quarterback hurries.

Devin White had two of those sacks, while Vita Vea and Anthony Nelson tallied another each. The hurries were spread pretty evenly, though the now-injured Shaquil Barrett led with three. Vea had two, and so did Joe Tryon-Shoyinka while White, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Mike Edwards and Akiem Hicks all picked up one apiece.

When pressured in that Week 1 game, Prescott completed was 4-of-10 for 60 yards and his interception, which ended up in the hands of Antoine Winfield Jr. The Cowboys managed 3.8 yards per play over 64 plays and finished 3-of-15 on third down. Their only points came on a Brett Maher field goal that capped a 14-play, 54-yard opening drive. The team’s final 10 drives netted nothing.

Can Tampa Bay Replicate That Pressure — And Those Results — In The Playoffs?

As Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo outlined back in September, much of the Bucs’ pass rushing success against the Cowboys came from blitz packages.

“However, the Bucs did need to use blitz packages to create much of that pressure, Queipo wrote. “The defense totaled 12 pressures on the night. Half of those came when blitzing, while the other half came when Tampa Bay rushed just four. The real difference is when you look at how often each event occurred. The Bucs’ six pressures while blitzing came on just 12 dropbacks, good for a 50% pressure rate. The six pressures when rushing four or less came on 19 dropbacks. That success rate falls to just 31.6%.”

So, there’s reason to expect that the Bucs might deploy some of those blitz packages again when the Cowboys come to town on Monday night. Now, how often they can realistically go to those packages will depend on the game situation. Tampa Bay grabbed an early lead in Week 1, and the defense took care of the rest by teeing off on Prescott all night.

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott – Photo by: USA Today

Where the Bucs need to be better on Monday night is getting pressure with four. Barrett played a big role in the limited success that the front four had against Dallas back in Week 1, and he’s now out for the season with a torn Achilles. So, it’ll be up to Vea, Hicks, Tryon-Shoyinka, Nelson and Carl Nassib to get after Prescott with more regularity this time around.

It helps that Dallas’ offensive line is banged-up. Right tackle Terence Steele suffered a season-ending injury in Week 14, while center Tyler Biadasz is working his way back from a high-ankle sprain he suffered a couple of weeks ago. The Cowboys have been forced to do some shuffling with their line, which could perhaps benefit the Bucs.

Between rushing four and getting creative with the blitz, the Bucs need to keep Prescott uncomfortable. He has thrown at least one interception in seven straight games, and Tampa Bay knows all too well how big turnovers can be in playoff games.

Especially given the inconsistency of their offense, the Bucs need their defense to do some heavy lifting against the Cowboys. Getting after the quarterback, forcing him into mistakes and putting Tom Brady in advantageous situations could swing the game in the Bucs’ favor come Monday night.