Cowboys Winless vs. Tom Brady - But One Thing's 'Pointing Up' for Dallas Playoffs
Here comes Tom.
Again.
The road to the Super Bowl – or at least the Divisional round – goes through the House That Tom Brady Rented. And while the venue with the venerable pirate ship isn’t necessarily intimidating, he sure is.
Especially when it comes to the Cowboys.
The Cowboys (12-5) ended the regular season with a listless 26-6 loss at the Washington Commanders and open the Wild Card round Monday night against NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9). Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. CT at Raymond James Stadium.
Brady, in his 20th season over and third with Tampa Bay, has never lost to the Cowboys. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is a perfect 7-0 against America’s Team, including 2-0 with the Bucs.
The winning streak goes back to two decades, with the first victory coming during the 2003 season while Brady was still with the New England Patriots. He’s beaten four different Cowboys coaches and quarterbacks.
Coach Mike McCarthy (0-2) trails only Jason Garrett (0-3) in coaching losses to Brady. Dak Prescott (0-3) is the QB leader in setbacks.
So what does McCarthy have up his sleeve in regard to what he said on Monday at The Star is "pointing up''?
Cowboys health, maybe.
“Everything is pointing up,” McCarthy said, regarding the possible return this week of starters Tyler Biadasz, Johnathan Hankins and Leighton Vander Esch, in addition to clearance for cornerback DaRon Bland, who left the Washington game with an injury. “We’re very optimistic for all of these guys.”
Optimism? Against Tom? They'll need it.
Brady, 45, has thrown for 1,945 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions against the Cowboys. His seven wins without a loss are the most against any NFL team.
Granted, Brady has never faced the Cowboys in the playoffs. Brady noted after Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons that the Cowboys are “very good” and referenced both games against Dallas in the last two seasons.
The Cowboys lost a 31-29 thriller at Tampa Bay in last season’s opener, as the Bucs were coming off their Super Bowl win in Brady’s first season with the team. Tampa Bay won this season’s opener 19-3 at AT&T Stadium, with Prescott going down with a thumb injury that sidelined him five games.
While the Cowboys haven’t fared well against Brady, the franchise does have some positive history against Tampa Bay in the postseason. Dallas eliminated the Bucs after the 1981 and 1982 seasons, both times at Texas Stadium.
Maybe "pointing-up'' health will help them do it again.
You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92
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