Here is what we will be paying attention to on Sunday night.
The last time the Dallas Cowboys played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers it was fantastic. Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns and the Cowboys won convincingly sending Dallas into the divisional round of the playoffs and sending Tom Brady into retirement.
Of course, it’s been almost two years since that wonderful game and things are different now. Both the aforementioned quarterbacks will not be playing in this one. The Bucs are trying to remain atop the NFC South while the Cowboys are trying to finish the season strong. It should be a competitive game, but we never know what to expect with this football team. Here are five things to keep an eye on when the Cowboys host the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football.
Stopping the run is always a concern for this Cowboys’ defense, so squaring off against a Bucs team that has gained the fourth-most rushing yards this season doesn’t bring out the warm and fuzzies. Tampa’s backfield features the two-headed monster of Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving. There’s a nice balance between the two as White averages 13.7 touches per game, while Irving averages 13.6 per contest. As a team, the Bucs average 5.2 yards per carry, second-best in the NFL this season.
On the year, the Cowboys’ defense has averaged 4.8 yards allowed per carry, which is fourth-worst in the league. They have gotten better recently as they haven’t allowed 75 yards on the ground in either of their last two games, but that might have something to do with the strength of their opponent. The Bucs' rushing attack could be a problem as they should see a heavy dose of the White/Irving duo.
The Bucs rushing attack is legit. They have been grounding and pounding all year long. The Cowboys’ rushing success is more of a recent development as Rico Dowdle is coming off the three best games of his career, each game better than the last. This raises the question, has Dowdle and the Cowboys rushing attack turned a corner or is this just the result of playing inferior run defenses?
Going against Tampa should answer that question. The Bucs' run defense was atrocious early, but they have stiffened up as of late. They haven’t allowed 100 yards on the ground in any of their last five games and are coming off a game against the Los Angeles Chargers where they only allowed 32 rushing yards.
You might be surprised that Baker Mayfield is one of this year’s top-performing quarterbacks. He is fourth in passing yards with 3,617, third in touchdown passes with 32, and third with a 70.8 completion percentage. He is one of the reasons that the Bucs offense ranks fourth in the league in points scored this season.
While Mayfield’s arm does most of the damage, he can perform improv at times. Mayfield...