In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Bucs have opened their last two seasons against the Dallas Cowboys. And in both games, kicker Ryan Succop has played a significant role in helping Tampa Bay come away victorious. 

Last year, the Bucs and Cowboys played a thrilling back-and-forth game at Raymond James Stadium. Greg Zuerlein hit a 48-yard field goal with 1:24 to go, giving Dallas a 29-28 lead. But after an 11-play, 57-yard drive led by Tom Brady, Succop came out and drilled a 36-yard field goal with two seconds left to give Tampa Bay a season-opening win.

Bucs K Ryan Succop – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Fast forward one year and two days, and Succop was at it again. Sunday night’s game at AT&T Stadium was much different than last year’s meeting between the two teams, but the veteran kicker was once again crucial. Brady and the offense struggled to finish drives in plus territory, which meant a lot of work for the soon-to-be 36-year-old. Succop made kicks from 44, 38, 29 and 47 yards in the first half to help the Bucs build a 12-3 halftime lead.

While Succop did miss a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter, Tampa Bay doesn’t take control of the game without his leg. Of course, after the game, Succop declined to make it about himself.

“This was a great team win,” he said. “Really proud of our guys, we put a lot of hard work in. To come down here and get a big win tonight was a great start to our season.”

Succop Hoping For More PATs Rather Than FGs For Bucs Next Week

Despite his modesty, he was one of the stars of the game for Tampa Bay. While the offense stalling and settling for three instead of six got frustrating for the Bucs, having a reliable kicker to pick them up was a plus. In past years, it could’ve been a coin flip to determine whether their kicker was going to ensure they could come away with points on a halted drive. But since he arrived in 2020, Succop has been steady and clutch.

“We’re all in this together. I was talking to Antoine [Winfield Jr.] on the way in [to the locker room], it’s a team effort. I was thankful that I was able to go out and I think we had, what, four [or] five field goals in the first half – Hey, we’ve had a lot of games where we’ve had four or five extra points in a half. So, we all try to pick each other up and I think that’s why it’s such a special team.”

Bucs quarterback Tom Brady was grateful for Succop’s four field goals against the Cowboys. But he would rather the veteran kicker have to attempt more extra points in the future, especially next week at New Orleans.

“We like to score every time that we get into the red area,” Brady said. “The reality is, you work hard to get down there and you’ve got to finish it off and score points. You’ve got to score seven. You score seven and it’s a very different game. So, we’ll get to work on that.”

Succop is now 57-of-66 (86.3%) on field goals during his time with the Bucs. With 13 points against the Cowboys, he passed James Wilder for the eighth-most points scored in team history.

And now, he’s helped them take Dallas down in back-to-back years in the season opener.

“I thought it was great to come down and get a lot of work,” Succop said. “We only had a few kicks in the preseason. So, it was kind of nice to get a lot of work in tonight. To come out on top was nice.”