8:20 p.m. ET (NBC) | Raymond James Stadium
It should come as no surprise that the 国产外流网schedule makers pitted the defending Super Bowl champions against the traditional draw of the franchise known as 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Team鈥 for its 2021 regular-season lid-lifter. After a preseason in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys combined for a dismal 1-6 record, and held back their star players with limited -- if any -- action, Thursday night will finally unveil what kind of engine both truly have under the hood to begin the 2021 campaign.
The matchup offers intrigue in droves, from the return of 锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘Dak Prescott锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘 from injury to Tom Brady embarking upon his age-44 season.
Here are four things to watch Thursday night when the Buccaneers host the Cowboys:
1) Dak is back. How will Prescott look in his first game action? He sat the entire preseason with a shoulder strain almost exactly 11 months since suffering a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle against the Giants last Oct. 11. Does he move with the appearance of comfort and confidence? Does he run without any sign of hesitation? Will the Cowboys' offensive game plan ease his return, at least early in the game, with a lot of short throws on quick reads that would help keep him upright and untouched? It鈥檚 not a formula for the season 鈥 unbridled Dak is the best Dak 鈥 but it might be better for his re-introduction to 国产外流网game speed, especially against the Bucs鈥 stellar defensive front seven.
2) The GOAT Story, Chapter 22. The year is 2045. Tom Brady, age 68, is looking fit as ever and, thanks to new advances in geriatrics, can still knock an apple off a tree stump with a football from 30 yards away. He鈥檚 still slicing up 国产外流网defenses in pursuit of a 15th Super Bowl ring, and 鈥 OK, we鈥檙e not quite there yet. But here in 2021, the assumption on how Brady looks coming off yet another Super Bowl crown at 44, entering his 22nd season, shouldn鈥檛 be that he鈥檚 bound to have slipped. He鈥檚 beyond such mortal inevitabilities. Assume instead that he continues to be a marvel of longevity, and effective enough to keep delivering 国产外流网wins, until he proves otherwise.
3) How will Dallas鈥 new look at LB fare? The Cowboys have infused first-round rookie Micah Parsons and former Falcons safety 锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘Keanu Neal锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘 into their starting linebacking corps to rave preseason reviews. Even veteran 锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘Leighton Vander Esch锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘, who hopes to vanquish injury woes that shortened his availability the past two seasons, is moving from the Mike position back to the weakside spot he manned as one of 国产外流网Media senior draft analyst Gil Brandt鈥檚 All-Rookie performers in 2018. The aforementioned Brady is masterful at turning missteps in coverage by linebackers into completions. Between Parsons鈥 youth, Neal鈥檚 position switch and Vander Esch鈥檚 health, there is no grace period in Week 1. The odd man out in this shuffle is 锘锘Jaylon Smith锘锘, who hasn鈥檛 missed a regular season game for the Cowboys in the last four years. His play slipped significantly in 2020, however, which led to preseason trade speculation and questions about the value he can provide against a $63.75 million contract signed in 2019. The Cowboys, for now, are moving on with Smith in a backup role.
4) How will the Bucs deploy rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka? With two proven edge rushers in 锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘Shaquil Barrett锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘 and 锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘Jason Pierre-Paul锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘锘 already rostered, the Bucs used a first-round pick on another one in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. He was everything the club could鈥檝e hoped for in the preseason, and now the Bucs have the luxury of juggling the trio. Or will they? 鈥There's situations where I could see in the future, down the road, where we have all three of them out there," coach Bruce Arians said in training camp. Down the road can mean a lot of things, and perhaps it won鈥檛 mean Week 1. But with Barrett and Pierre-Paul combining for 31 starts and 17.5 sacks in 2020, it will be intriguing to see who is sidelined when Tryon-Shoyinka gets his snaps against the Cowboys.
