It was a tough opening week to the season for the Dallas Cowboys, as they drop their opener to the Buccaneers for a second consecutive season.
Here is our Cowboys insider Bobby Belt’s thoughts from his quarter-by-quarter game journal.
FIRST QUARTER
15:00 I wondered if the Buccaneers would give KaVontae Turpin much of a chance early in this game, and they did so right off the bat. Nice coverage by the Bucs to swarm kick coverage and stop Turpin at the 14.
14:19 Tyler Smith with a nice seal block in the running game to free Zeke for 7 yards on 2nd and 3.
13:48 Fans have clamored for creativity on offense, and the Cowboys tried it with a double reverse to Tony Pollard. Bucs aren’t fooled and drop Pollard for an eight yard loss.
13:09 Dak’s first throw to one of his wide receivers goes to the undrafted free agent Dennis Houston.
12:35 First third and long opportunity for Dallas’ questionable pass protection works out great. Dak fires a laser to CeeDee Lamb on 3rd and 7 for a 16-yard gain.
11:38 Really tough break for Connor McGovern on the opening drive. His ankle gets rolled up when Tyler Smith blocks a Bucs defender into his back. Matt Farniok on in his place, giving the Cowboys a ton of inexperience on the left side of the line.
10:26 Another third and long passing situation for the Buccaneers to put pressure on Dallas’ offensive line, and the Cowboys respond. Dak gets time and finds Noah Brown for 9 yards and a first down to the Bucs 31.
9:10 Rough play sequence for the Cowboys. Kellen Moore puts Tony Pollard in the wildcat and it loses a yard. Dallas then tries a quick screen to CeeDee Lamb, but Schultz appears out of position for the block though, as Lamb and the ball collide with Schultz. The drive stalls after Dak’s throw goes behind Schultz on 3rd and 11. Maher nails a 51-yard field goal, which is a good sign at the very least.
9:02 Nice to see the Cowboys crowd so into it, forcing a false start from Cameron Brate on Tampa’s very first snap. AT&T Stadium has steadily improved at making things difficult on opposing offenses over the last several years.
9:02 On 1st and 15 the Bucs go right for Chris Godwin on a quick screen. No bubble wrap for him. Trevon Diggs gets lost in the trash and it turns into a big gain of 24 for the Bucs.
5:55 Big 3rd and 1 stop by DeMarcus Lawrence to force a field goal. He beats Shaq Mason inside to blow up the run play. That’s the kind of stuff that makes Lawrence so valuable, outside of just sack production. Tampa is forced to kick a field goal to tie it up at 3.
4:07 Cowboys started their second drive with promise. Motion at the snap, and a 7 yard carry for Zeke. A false start by Terence Steele put them in 2nd and 8, which caused the drive to quickly fizzle after incompletions to CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz.
2:47 Just a brutal start to the drive for Trevon Diggs. First Mike Evans gets him turned around for a 19 yard gain to open the drive for Tampa, then Diggs plays some half-hearted run defense that allows Leonard Fournette to pick up 17 yards to plays later. Diggs has to be better in both aspects.
1:13 Interesting to see Tom Brady missing on posts on first and third down. Brady misses Mike Evans high on first down and then misses Julio Jones wide on 3rd and 5. Bucs settle for a field goal and a 6-3 lead.
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SECOND QUARTER
15:00 Dak’s 3rd and 4 throw is a little behind CeeDee Lamb, but it appeared to be placed with intention to avoid the defender in the middle of the field. Not an easy grab by any means, but Lamb needs to step up and make those catches as the #1.
8:05 Micah Parsons comes up with a huge sack on 3rd and 5. Parsons showed a tremendous first step off the snap, and then displayed great awareness to grab hold of Tom Brady’s ankle as he fell backwards to the ground. Tampa had converted two third down opportunities already on the drive, and a third would have been a bit demoralizing.
7:34 Succop misses a 36-yard field goal wide left to keep the game at 6-3, but CJ Goodwin has nearly blocked all three kicks. You can see why the Cowboys value his special teams ability as much as they do.
7:31 Cowboys get Dak Prescott going on the PA boot to his right, where he’s often at his most comfortable, and they find CeeDee Lamb for a 20-yard gain to open the drive. Nothing can ever be that easy though, right? Lamb gets flagged for offensive pass interference. Takes some of the win out of the sails.
6:17 Dak Prescott feels the pressure on 3rd and 10 and makes a bad decision in the process. Antoine Winfield with the pick and run back to set Tampa up at Dallas’ 23. Dak trying to do a bit too much.
4:13 Micah Parsons picking right up from where he left off in 2021. He runs right by new left tackle Josh Wells for another sack on third down. Tom Brady gets the ball out fast, but not fast enough to beat Parsons.
2:48 Cowboys actually let Dak run! Kellen Moore calls for the option on 2nd and 9 with Dak and KaVontae Turpin. Turpin keeps the Bucs defense honest and allows Dak to slide up field for 12.
2:01 Cowboys receivers are really struggling to get separation. After picking up the first down on the 12 yard run, Dak fails to hit Noah Brown, and then can’t connect with Lamb on the next two. On the third down throw there appeared to be some sort of miscommunication between Tyler Smith and Matt Farniok, leaving Tony Pollard to pick up Shaq Barrett. Prescott just got the ball away before getting crushed by Barrett.
1:46 Bucs catch a huge break. An incompletion to Chris Godwin on first down is incorrectly ruled a 5 yard reception. The ball clearly skipped, but it was inside of two minutes, and the booth didn’t review the play.
0:58 The Bucs convert 3rd and 4 following the missed incompletion on first down, which then sets up a spectacular 48 yard grab by Julio Jones to the Cowboys 29. This play might not have been possible without the referee mistake on first down.
0:33 Bucs enter hurry-up offense and it’s Trevon Diggs coming up with a clutch pass break-up in the end zone after losing a step to Breshad Perriman. The Bucs offense ultimately stalls, forcing Tampa to settle for another field goal and a 12-3 half time lead.
THIRD QUARTER
12:38 Bucs face 3rd and 13 on their opening drive of the second half and decide to take a shot down the field. Brady got ample time, even with his bruised offensive line. Just like the end of the first half, Breshad Perriman got a step on Trevon Diggs down the left sideline, but Diggs closed late and made a great play to tip the ball away. Nice assist for Malik Hooker who showed great range to get over to the sideline and contest the play as well.
9:41 It took until more than five minutes into the third quarter before Tony Pollard gets his first target. 4 yard swing pass sets up 3rd and 6, and it appears to be the same old story to start 2022 in terms of the Cowboys rhetoric about Pollard vs. how they actually use him.
9:01 Tony Pollard gets overwhelmed in blitz pickup against Devin White, dropping Dak for a 7 yard loss on 3rd and 6. After converting their first two opportunities on third down, the Cowboys have failed on each of their last six opportunities.
6:53 Leonard Fournette continues to gash the Cowboys on the ground. He opens this drive with runs of 11, 9, and 17 respectively. Byron Leftwich has done a tremendous job scheming up favorable looks in the running game for Fournette. It’s not so much the Cowboys missing plays as it is the Buccaneers generating really favorable numbers for their blockers.
5:19 Bucs get a crucial conversion on 3rd and 3 from the Dallas 25 to keep their drive alive. Tom Brady hits Mike Evans in the numbers on a slant to pick up 10. Really not much Anthony Brown could have done in coverage. The Bucs offense is starting to find some momentum.
3:27 Mike Evans dominated the final few plays of this drive. It started with the third down conversion, then he got Anthony Brown turned around for a 17 yard gain to the Dallas 5, and on the very next play he separates from Trevon Diggs for a touchdown. With the Cowboys down 16, and just over 18 minutes of game time remaining, it feels like do or die time for Dallas on offense.
3:23 There’s no excuse for the throw Dak Prescott just made on first down. He had time, Noah Brown had separation, and he simply sailed the ball over his head. There have been some things out of Prescott’s control in this game, but he’s just not been good. You can’t have your franchise quarterback play like this.
2:34 Finally! The Cowboys manage to convert a third down attempt for the first time since the opening drive as Dak hits Dalton Schultz for 14 on 3rd and 11. Schultz found a nice soft spot in coverage and Dak delivered a dart. They need more of this.
1:06 Finally…again! Dak and CeeDee manage to connect for the first time since the opening drive. This time they get CeeDee in the slot for a favorable one-on-one matchup. Lamb shakes the corner and picks up 13 to get into Buccaneers territory. It’s critical for Dallas to come away with a touchdown on this drive.
0:31 Absolutely brutal false start on Terence Steele as the offense is building momentum. That’s now three false start penalties on Steele tonight, which equals the number of false start penalties Steele had all of last season.
FOURTH QUARTER
15:00 Cowboys open the fourth quarter with ANOTHER penalty on Terence Steele. This time it’s holding on 2nd and 6. Steele is putting the Cowboys in a hole right now. They can’t have this.
13:34 Dak Prescott is nearly picked off by Devin White as he fails to convert 4th and 2. It’s as if Prescott didn’t even see White when he was targeting Houston. Prescott hasn’t seen the field well at all tonight.
12:06 The defense is trying their best to keep this football game competitive as Donovan Wilson comes up with a big time interception. Can the offense respond?
11:26 Been that kind night…Dak Prescott escapes pressure on 3rd and 8, but completely misses a wide open Noah Brown past the sticks. Cowboys are forced to punt, and fans are forced to watch 11 more minutes of this torturous performance.
6:02 We now have a cherry on top of this wonderful sundae. Dak Prescott leaves the field with an apparent injury to his hand. This surely isn't what the Cowboys envisioned when their season kicked off a few hours ago.
0:00 Mercifully, this game has ended. The Cowboys are 0-1. The only NFC East team to lose on Sunday.