Thursday Night Showdown: NFL Week 1
Be sure to check the injury report before game time as this article is written days in advance and picks could change with new information!
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The defending Super Bowl Champions Buccaneers are back in action for the first game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys. The Bucs found their chemistry late in the season and they wouldn’t denied their ring by their loaded roster and they will run it back with Brady who will become the oldest quarterback to ever start a game in league history. Just another stat to pad his legendary career.
The Cowboys have been the epitome of mediocrity for year’s and can’t seem to win the close games to make a deep run in the playoffs. They are currently riddled with injuries and sickness with Gaurd Zack Martin out, which will drastically affect the Cowboys run game and opening up Dak Prescott to increased pressure after missing the entire preseason due to a shoulder injury after signing his 4 year, 160M mega deal. This shows the Cowboys think that Dak will get over his recent injuries despite his issues forcing him to miss the preseason. The Cowboys have out 9 players in Covid-19 protocols over the last 16 days.
The only missing notable player for the Bucs is Whitehead who hasn’t practiced with the team in a while.
The Bucs get the advantage in more areas than one. The first and possibly one of the most important advantages is that of the home field right after giving the fans a Lombardi Trophy. There are no Covid restrictions in Florida so expect a full crowd.
When it comes to gunslingers, I have to declare this relatively even. Dak is more electric but Brady is reliable with a healthy offensive line. Dak still has rollout ability to hit his big targets in veteran Amari Cooper and young gun CeeDee Lamb. Dak is still the biggest unknown in this game, the coaching staff seems like he is well enough to play so we have to assume he is at least 80% full capability. As opposed to Brady, he must throw the ball out of bounds to avoid the sack or risk injury, which impacts decision making and stops his ability to extend plays.
The Bucs get the advantage in the wide receiver department and have the best wide receiver core in the league, in my humble opinion. Evans, Godwin, Gronkowski and Brown all have great upside and proven in battle. Given enough time to throw, Brady’s age is meaningless.
The ground game has been a staple of the Cowboys offense behind world eater Elliot. However, history has shown his effectiveness dwindles when key pieces of his line are out which is the case this matchup. It’s highly unfortunate because the Bucs defensive line gobbled up everything in the playoffs last year. However, the Bucs Jones shows he is no slouch in the running department tallying 978 rushing with Fournette rushing for roughly 375 yards. Elliot and Pollard had 979 and 435 yards, respectively. I’d have to declare the running game even due to the Cowboys offensive line woes.
The line started off as -6.5 Bucs but the public drove the number up to as high -9.5 with it settling in the middle at -8.0 due to smart money. It’s no doubt the Bucs win this game so feel free to parley the Bucs ML but, the question is by how much. My initial thoughts were Bucs winning this game 24-14 which is why I’m taking the -8.0. Definitely hit anything lower than -8.0.
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