Although there is still a long way to go in this postseason tournament, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback was nothing short of outstanding, leading his team to a 31-14 victory over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this NFC Wild Card game. In doing so, the Cowboys won their first playoff game outside of the 1992 NFC Championship Game, a 30-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
But that was ancient history thanks to Prescott and company. After missing his first three passes of the night and being sacked on his fourth return, the Dallas quarterback was nearly unstoppable, completing 25 of his next 30 attempts for 305 yards. Overall, he posted a 75.8 completion percentage with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 143.3 passer rating.
Along the way, he set a franchise playoff record with 11 consecutive completions and passed Tony Romo for fourth-most career postseason touchdowns, now 10. He also tied Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman , for the club’s most assists in a playoff game.
Dalton Schultz was the main beneficiary of Prescott’s performance, becoming the first tight end in the Cowboys’ record books with two receiving touchdowns in a playoff game. He hauled in seven catches for 95 yards, both team highs, while eight different players hauled in passes.
For all the offensive fireworks, Dallas’ defense was perhaps even more dominant. Brady threw for 351 yards, but it took 66 pass attempts. He completed just 53 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and an interception for a 72.2 rating. The Cowboys also limited the Buccaneers’ ground game to just 52 yards. Micah Parsons and Jonathan Hankins each had one sack, while Leighton Vander Esch led the club with nine tackles. Both Hankins and Vander Esch returned to the lineup after missing four and three games, respectively.
The only blemish on the night was kicker Brett Maher’s inexplicable problems. One of the best in the business throughout the regular season, he missed his first four extra point attempts. Fortunately, his early inaccuracy did not affect the outcome of this match.
Regardless, the Buccaneers were simply no match for the Cowboys tonight.
It took several runs for the offenses to catch up after both defenses dominated the first five minutes of the quarter. But on their third down, the Cowboys not only managed to fumble the first down, they opened the scoring.
The seven-play, 80-yard drive saw Tony Pollard rush four times for 25 yards, with Prescott connecting with Michael Gallup for 15 yards and picking up 15 yards, roughing the passer, for another 15. The quarterback then capped the drive with a 22 yards to Schultz and as Maher pushed his extra point to the right, to no avail, Dallas had an early 6-0 lead.
On the second play of the second frame, the Cowboys averted disaster. Brady marched his troops all the way to the Dallas 5-yard line, but on second-and-goal, his throw into the back, middle of the end zone, was picked off by safety Jayron Kearse, the Cowboys securing Brady’s first red-zone interception of the 2019 season.
Received the gift, Prescott took charge, leading his team the full 80 yards on 15 plays. On the drive, the quarterback completed all six of his pass attempts for 71 yards, but used his legs to cross the goal line, bootleg around the left end on fourth-and-1 for a touchdown. However, the struggles continued for Maher as he again pushed his extra point to the right.
With his latest effort, Prescott recorded both a pass and a rushing touchdown in his fourth straight playoff game, the only player in NFL history to record such a streak. He also became the sixth quarterback in league history to turn the trick in a total of four postseason games.
After the defense again forced another punt on the Buccaneers, the Cowboys had 3:32 to play before halftime. That was a long time. Again, Prescott was superb as he completed 7-of-9 passes for 83 yards and also scrambled for 11 yards diving for a first down on third-and-6. On the touchdown throw, he rolled left to avoid pressure and then found Schultz again 11 yards for the points. In an already troubling trend, Maher this time missed his extra point wide left, but Dallas went into the locker room with an 18-0 advantage at the break.
Left tackle Jason Peters was ruled out after suffering a hip injury late in the second quarter, but with rookie Tyler Smith moving from left guard back to defensive end and Connor McGovern coming in for Smith, the team’s offensive train hasn’t stopped. slow down.
Starting at their own 14-yard line, the Cowboys needed just eight plays to reach the end zone for their fourth straight possession. Prescott hit Schultz for 26 yards — the tight end made an impressive juggling catch — which was later followed by a connection with CeeDee Lamb for another 26 and an 18-yard run to Pollard. The quarterback then found Gallup in the end zone from 2 yards out for a touchdown. Another Maher miss, this one from the top of the right upright, officially made his night one of the worst in playoff history, but Dallas’ commanding lead made his disappointing effort a non-factor.
Despite being deep in the hole, Tampa Bay isn’t overwhelmed yet. The Buccaneers went on a 10-play, 95-yard drive late in the quarter, with Brady’s final two passes of the drive going for 18 yards to tight end Mike Evans and then a 30-yarder to receiver Julio Jones in the end zone. The Cowboys may have benefited from a no-call on a possible defensive hold on the two-point conversion, but regardless, the pass attempt fell incomplete.
Dallas, however, had an answer. Again, Prescott cut the Buccaneers secondary. Along the way, he hit Noah Brown for 15 yards and Gallup for 12 before he and the receiver found themselves facing fourth-and-4 at the Tamp Bay 18-yard line. When McCarthy decided to go for it, Prescott found a wide open Lamb on the left side for an easy touchdown. And Cowboys Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when Maher split the uprights to convert the extra point and extend the lead to 31-6.
If they weren’t buried before, the Buccaneers were essentially now with just over 10 minutes left in the game. They did get to the Cowboys’ 2-yard line on their next possession, but Brady’s desperation pass under pressure fell incomplete on fourth-and-goal, Dallas took over on downs.
Unfortunately, a scary moment came with less than three minutes remaining when Tampa Bay receiver Russell Gage had to be carted off the field with an injury, giving a thumbs up as he headed for the tunnel.
When the action returned, Brady then capped an 11-play, 52-yard drive with an 8-yard toss to tight end Cameron Brate and converted the two-point conversion with a strike to Evans. When the Buccaneers then recovered a fumble inside their own 49-yard line with 2:04 on the clock, things got a little uneasy.
In the end, though, it was too little too late.
Thanks to the 17-point win, the Cowboys will travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers next Sunday, January 22nd at 5:30pm CT on FOX in the divisional round of the playoffs.
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