Getty The Dallas Cowboys hit Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady during a play.
The Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up for a huge Wild Card clash, with Bucs quarterback Tom Brady revealing his thoughts on his opponents.
Anyone that has watched national media coverage of the game will know that Brady is undefeated against the Cowboys in his career, going 7-0 against Dallas. Brady knows that history and extracurricular details don’t matter in win-or-go-home games, but he also has respect for what Dallas has accomplished.
“Yeah, they’ve got a great team,” Brady said in a January 14 press conference. “I’ve played them quite a bit over the years and I have a lot of respect for the organization, their history, a lot of great players.”
But the real meat of the legendary QB’s comments came afterward when he followed up with comments about the past.
“All of it’s about three hours on … Monday night – and everything’s going to come down to what we do those hours,” Brady added. “Nothing in the past, nothing about the color jerseys we’re wearing. It’s who’s playing, what we’re doing, how we’re executing, how we’re executing under pressure.”
Brady and the Buccaneers were successful in their last matchup against Dallas in Week 1, but much has changed for the Cowboys since their season-opening loss.
Cowboys Looking for Redemption Against Buccaneers
In Tampa Bay’s 19-3 rout of Dallas, the Cowboys looked unprepared and slow to start the year. Of course, Dallas QB Dak Prescott injuring his thumb and being forced out of the game didn’t help either.
The Cowboys offense was anemic, putting up 269 total yards of offense. Prescott was struggling before the injury, completing 14 of 29 passes for 134 yards and an interception. That being said, it’s not like Brady shredded Dallas’ defense.
Brady completed 18 of 27 passes for 212 yards, a touchdown and an interception. In reality, it was the Cowboys’ inability to stop the run as Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries.
One Dallas player that did do well was pass rusher Micah Parsons, who put up two sacks in the contest. Parsons understands that every game against Brady is an opportunity, and he’s said as much in the build-up to the Wild Card rematch.
Parsons Speaks on Brady
Besides getting a first franchise win against Brady, another potential milestone is that Brady can eclipse the Cowboys’ all-time playoff win totals with a victory, as former Cowboys QB Babe Laufenberg pointed out.
If Tom Brady beats the Cowboys on Monday night, he will surpass the Cowboys’ all-time playoff win total. Not Staubach’s playoff wins. Or Aikman’s. I mean the entire organization. Brady-35 playoff wins. Cowboys franchise-35 playoff wins.
If Parsons has anything to say about it, the Cowboys will prevent that milestone from happening on Monday night, while also potentially retiring the Buccaneers QB.
Parsons speculated on Brady’s future during a January 12 press conference, as Heavy previously covered.
“It’s always cool going against Brady because, s***, none of us know when his last game is,” Parsons said. “So, hopefully we get the win and get to be known for being the last [team to beat Brady]. If not, we’ll probably see him again next year, we know how he is.”
Parsons also said that Brady “bleeds the same way” as other NFL QBs, so approaching the game isn’t that different than playing against anyone else. Getting another pair of sacks would add quite the exclamation mark to the 23-year-old Cowboys star’s pre-game comments.