While some might say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win over the Dallas Cowboys was a great feat to begin the season, it doesn’t take much analysis to realize calling that win a great accomplishment is ignoring several key factors/
The Cowboys are a team that will always get the benefit of the doubt due to their national status as “America’s Team.” No matter how bad they are, the media will routinely play them up as a playoff contender simply because of how large their fan following is.
That being the case is why beating them in week one may have appeared more difficult on paper than it actually was. The Cowboys spent their offseason getting worse at almost every single offensive position and adding nothing to make them better. They were only slightly above average last year-this year they are downright bad.
If they want to actually be considered as a Super Bowl contender this year, the Bucs should expect to roll over teams with rosters as lackluster as the Cowboys. Aside from a few big names like Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons, the Cowboys team is a very mediocre conglomeration of players.
So, the fact that the Buccaneers had some issues offensively throughout the game finding the red zone should be a very large red flag for the team. Against playoff caliber teams, scoring just 19 points will very rarely win you football games, especially with some questions remaining about defensive consistency if the last two years are anything telling.
The Bucs need to make sure they come into this Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints far more buttoned up and polished than they did for the Cowboys game. Beating the Saints is a far greater challenge and accomplishment for the Bucs than beating the Cowboys and will set a tone for the season.
Especially considering how much the Bucs have struggled against the Saints historically, this is the game that will actually show fans what this year’s Bucs team is as opposed to their week one matchup against a glorified college level team.
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