Micah Parsons said the postseason is where legends are made, and the Cowboys just embarrassed one on his own field
TAMPA, FLA — Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are officially somewhere in Davy Jones' Locker trying to figure out what comes next for the organization, having seen their ship run full speed into an iceberg that had the Dallas Cowboys logo painted across its face.
It's unknown if it'll be the last song Brady's band plays with him on the violin, but it's a titanic victory for the Cowboys — one sparked by a dominant defensive effort that helped Dak Prescott right the Cowboys ship on offense.
Brady's loss on Monday night was the first-ever against the Cowboys, organizationally speaking, and featured a shutout heading into halftime; and the 31-14 final score is misleading, in and of itself.
Fact is, Brady and his stable of weapons were put in a deep freezer for much of the game, with most of his 351 yards and both of his two touchdowns occurring with the game well out of reach late in the contest.
In all, the future Hall of Famer finished with only 35 completions on an eye-popping 66 attempts and an interception to go along with his pair of touchdowns.
The lone INT happened when safety Jayron Kearse picked off a pass in the end zone that Brady tossed on second-and-goal from the Cowboys five-yard line as Dallas nursed a 6-0 lead.
Prescott would do the rest, rewarding the defense by finishing the subsequent drive with a one-yard touchdown run after moving the ball downfield with surgical precision.
And then there was the rushing attack for the Bucs or, more accurately, their complete lack of one.
The combination of Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette rushed for only 52 combined yards and no touchdowns on 12 total carries, numbers punctuated by the timely return of both Johnathan Hankins and Leighton Vander Esch from injury.
And speaking of Vander Esch, who solidified the defense as a whole, the starting middle linebacker led the team with nine tackles in his first game back while nearly intercepting Brady late in the fourth quarter.
All told, the Cowboys defense was everywhere in coverage and nearly logged a three or four INT day against Brady — those throws just narrowly flying off of fingertips.
There was ultimately little the Cowboys defense didn't do well on Monday night, with the whole world watching and watching expecting anything but what they received on their TV and streaming devices, the unit having played full-on complementary football to what was occurring on the offensive side of the equation.
They've earned a trip to the NFC Divisional Round for their efforts, having exorcised a powerful demon in Tampa with a chance to do the same to one in San Francisco.
