Two of the hottest teams in the NFL square off here in a late-December matchup at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys have won three of four but the Bucs are riding a four-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay leads the NFC South at 8-6 and the Cowboys are barely hanging into the playoff picture and could actually be eliminated from contention before the kickoff.
Either way, it appears the Cowboys are still playing to win and so it should be an entertaining matchup on Sunday Night Football.
Here's how the staff writers think the game will play out:
Patrik: As I wrote in last week's prediction, I had no clue if the Cowboys would be able to regain their footing after the gutting loss on Monday Night Football and the catastrophic knee injury to DeMarvion Overshown to overcome on a short week that included a road game. What they showed me can only invoke added confidence in that, man oh man, this team just refuses to quit — no matter the circumstances.
And as the defense continues to find ways to take the ball away and to stop the run, I think they have a solid chance at potentially bottling up a red-hot Buccaneers' offense, leaving the Cowboys' offense to try and match serve like they did (eventually) against the Panthers. They'll have to fight for their lives in this one, also not playing well at AT&T Stadium, but screw it... let's have some fun. I'll take the upset here. 24-21, Cowboys
Nick: Back and forth ... back and forth. That's actually what I'm doing in my head as I think about how this one is going to go. In fact, it's also a way to describe the game because it could be like the Bengals game that literally saw both teams trading the lead. On one hand, I see the Bucs have won four straight games including a dominating performance to beat the Chargers on the road.
Then, I think about the Cowboys, who were pretty close to also winning four straight games. I look at the Panthers, who forced the Bucs to overtime a few weeks ago, but then were not a real match for the Cowboys. I know you can't play that game because it all comes down to matchups. So looking at this matchup specifically, I think the Cowboys might struggle to continue their running success. I see Mike Evans being problematic for the secondary. It'll be a close one, but I've got the Bucs edging Dallas 30-26.
Tommy: This is one of those matchups where when you look across the board, there just isn't a lot in the Cowboys favor. For example, the Bucs passing offense works a lot with passes under 10 air yards, an area where Dallas' defense has given up a lot. Tampa Bay's pass rush gets a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and plays zone coverage a majority of the time on the back end, both aspects that Cooper Rush has struggled with.
The Cowboys do have the ultimate equalizer in Micah Parsons and what he's been able to generate from a pass rush perspective for himself and his teammates, but this Buccaneers offensive line is one of the best that Dallas will face all season too. Add into the fact that Dallas is 2-4 against teams currently in the playoff picture (the Buccaneers are the 3 seed in the NFC heading into Sunday night) and I don't see a lot of advantages for the Cowboys. Buccaneers 31, Cowboys 20
