Getty Tom Brady is ready to face the Dallas Cowboys.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 1 matchup had only been released for a few hours before Tom Brady decided to take the first punch against the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the NFL season opener. Brady took to social media to take a slight jab at the Cowboys through an Instagram Story.
“9/9 can’t come soon enough. Excited to open against ‘America’s Team,'” Brady said with a winking meme.
Brady was clearly taking a shot at the Cowboys’ moniker of “America’s Team.” It is worth noting that Brady grew up in California as a 49ers fan during the 1980s and 90s, the height of the Dallas-San Francisco rivalry in the NFL.
After days of rumors, the NFL confirmed the Buccaneers will host the Cowboys on Thursday, September 9 to kick off the 2021 season. The defending Super Bowl champions have already opened as a sizable favorite against the Cowboys.
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Brady Has Disliked the Cowboys ‘Since Coming Out of the Womb’
Brady has been open about his disdain for the Cowboys as the quarterback reflected on his thoughts ahead of a 2019 matchup against Dallas when he was still with New England. He admitted that he has, “not liked the Cowboys since coming out of the womb.”
“I’ve really not liked the Cowboys since coming out of the womb as a Niner fan,” Brady said at the time, per Pro Football Talk. “But, no I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys and they’ve actually had a great winning organization. They’ve got a lot of great players in their history. Guys that I just, as a Niner fan, you’d play the Cowboys and every time they’d hand off to Emmitt Smith would be a 5-yard gain, and you would pull you hair out — and throw it up to Michael Irvin and Troy [Aikman] was such a great player, and the defenses, Ken Norton and Prime Time [Deion Sanders].
I” think the history of great players, the tradition – getting to meet Roger Staubach over the years has been – just such a cool guy. Someone to really look up to. And then what they’re currently doing with the team that they have, it’s one of the most talented teams in the NFL that are playing great on offense, defense and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”
The Bucs Are Nearly a Touchdown Favorite Over the Cowboys
Vegas appears to side with Brady as the Buccaneers opened as a 6.5-point favorite over the Cowboys in the season opener, per OddsShark. The Bucs are the first team in NFL history to return all 22 of their starters from the Super Bowl. Dallas is coming off a disappointing season in Mike Mccarthy’s first year as Cowboys head coach.
The Cowboys spent the offseason overhauling their underachieving defense starting with hiring new coordinator Dan Quinn. Dallas focused almost their entire draft on defensive players, but the unit will be put to the test early against a prolific Buccaneers offense. All indications are the Cowboys-Bucs matchup will also mark the return of Dak Prescott after sustaining a season-ending ankle injury last October.