Cowboys vs. Bucs: Can Trevon Diggs Win Again Vs. Mike Evans?
The Dallas Cowboys don't have to look far for preparation material ahead of Sunday's season-opener at AT&T Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The two teams matched up in Week 1 of last season, as the defending champion Bucs pulled away with a 31-29 win at home.
Coming up just short of spoiling ring night in Tampa was certainly an early-season stinger for Dallas, but it was the start of a year that saw the Cowboys lead the league with 34 takeaways, four of which came in the loss to the Bucs.
It also signaled the beginning of what was a historic, 11-interception season for Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, who came up with his first pick of the year in the second quarter of that game.
But throughout that night, Diggs was also tasked with covering four-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans, who has remained one of the league's most consistent pass-catchers over the years.
Evans has never finished a season under 1,000 receiving yards as he enters his ninth season, including last year where he had 1,035 yards and a career-high 14 touchdown receptions. But Diggs' season-opening performance against the big-bodied red-zone threat left an initial cloud of doubt over whether Evans could continue his impressive streak.
Evans finished his third-worst receiving total of the season, as he posted just three catches for 24 yards on six targets.
And as Evans, a native of Galveston, Texas and a former Texas A&M Aggie returns to his home state to begin the 2022 season, he does so as another matchup with Diggs looms.
Evans might have finished with three catches in last year's meeting with Dallas, but per NextGenStats, Diggs held the receiver to just one catch of 10 yards while covering him on 39 of 47 routes.
Diggs could be seen playing about 10 yards off the line of scrimmage on many snaps, but actually lined up in press coverage on over half of Evans' routes, per the date provided. At 6-5 230, Evans has become known as one of the league's most physically-dominant receivers. But at 6-2, 195, Diggs didn't back down from the challenge and has the stats to prove it.
Fast-forward to now, Diggs has become known league-wide as one of the top defensive players in football, evident by his finish at No. 23 on the NFL's player-voted Top 100 list for 2022 after he entered last season unranked.
Even after his strong play in prime time against Evans, Diggs continued to punish quarterbacks and receivers as the season progressed, all while budding into his All-Pro form along the way. If Diggs was able to severely limit Evans before adding another 16 games of experience under his belt, than replicating a similar performance is well within reach.
While nothing is certain headed into Sunday, Diggs will likely shadow Evans once again, as Tom Brady's top target aims for some one-on-one revenge.
Winning the battle with Evans could prove that Diggs' 2021 season was no fluke. Get burned, and the overreactions would likely start pouring in.
But the numbers don't lie as the Cowboys prepare for one of the season's toughest tests, a test that will begin Sunday at 7:20 p.m. C.T.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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