Well, it’s officially official. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys on opening night to kick off the 2021 NFL season and the Buccaneers’ quest to “go for two.”
The NFL’s official schedule release show is scheduled for tonight at 8:00 PM EST, but with the way the world works now, naturally, things have been leaked. You’ve just got to love the internet. Here is the Bucs official Twitter announcement celebrating the occasion:
🚨 KICKOFF GAME SET 🚨
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 12, 2021
We'll open the season at home against the Cowboys on Thursday, Sept. 9. #GoBucs
The league will usually try to find the best matchup possible, which in this case would have been the Buffalo Bills considering the Bills were just in the AFC Championship Game and our Super Bowl contenders, but they went with the more “sexy” matchup with Dallas.
Yes, even though the Cowboys went 6-10 a season ago, they will always move the needle when it comes to eyeballs, clicks, and ratings. This game will also be the return of Dak Prescott which will bring an added storyline, even though the team was 1-3 at the time of his injury with their sole win coming off of a miracle, but semantics.
Obviously, the “sexiest” matchup would have been Tom Brady and the Bucs facing off against the New England Patriots. However, the Bucs will be traveling to New England, and honestly, Brady’s return to the house he built will have more mustard in that narrative sandwich.
As for the game itself, it will most likely go how most Buccaneers games should go this year, with the Bucs eating a W. That ferocious front-seven should feast on the Cowboys’ aging and aching offensive line. It’ll also probably go how most Cowboys games/losses go with them falling down relatively big early, then Dak throwing for a million yards in garbage time making the game look closer than it really was.
The Buccaneers were a collection of star-studded talent last season that didn’t really have much of identity due to the lack of offseason thanks to COVID. What matters is, they hit their stride when it mattered most, and are reigning, defending, undisputed Super Bowl champions. Now that they have a full offseason with all 22 starters and some change returning, this could be a demolition job for the Bucs to get back to the Super Bowl.
There’s also this little nugget to consider. Brady is 10-1 all-time when opening the season at home, and 3-1 all-time in Thursday night openers.
The Cowboys are the Buccaneers’ first opponent in 2021, and they should be their first victim as well.