Tom Brady, Bucs outlast Dak Prescott, Cowboys on late field goal

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By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer

TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw for 379 yards and 4 touchdowns, helping the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers footwear disconnected the NFL play with a mistake-filled 31-29 triumph implicit the Dallas Cowboys connected Thursday night.

With seats successful an NFL stadium filled to afloat capableness for the archetypal clip since the commencement of the coronavirus pandemic, Ryan Succop won it with a 36-yard tract extremity with 2 seconds remaining. Brady acceptable it up with a last-minute thrust directed connected the aforesaid tract wherever the Bucs became the archetypal squad to play and triumph a Super Bowl successful its location stadium 7 months ago.

For Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner, it was the 300th regular-season commencement successful a sparkling 22-year vocation – a grounds for a quarterback. The 44-year-old besides joined Drew Brees arsenic the lone players to propulsion for 300-plus yards successful a crippled 100 times.

Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown caught first-half touchdown passes for the Bucs, who extended their winning streak to 9 games dating to past December. Brady’s 2nd TD walk of the nighttime to Gronkowski enactment the champs up, 28-19. Succop’s tract extremity came aft Greg Zuerlein enactment the Cowboys up with a 48-yarder with 1:24 to go.

Dak Prescott threw for 403 yards and 3 TDs for Dallas successful his archetypal crippled since suffering a terrible wounded ankle that ended his 2020 play aft conscionable 5 games. The sixth-year pro didn’t play successful the preseason aft straining his close enarthrosis aboriginal successful grooming camp, and limitations connected his throwing weren’t lifted until astir 2 weeks earlier the opener.

The Cowboys person ne'er beaten Brady, who improved to 6-0 against them, with 5 of the victories coming during his historical 20-year tally with the New England Patriots.

But Prescott, with assistance from a revamped Dallas defence that forced a fumble and intercepted a walk that glanced disconnected Leonard Fournette’s hands to acceptable up a touchdown and tract goal, pushed the defending champs to the bounds earlier 65,566.

Ultimately, though, Brady made the Cowboys wage for kicking woes that contributed to Dallas lone scoring 16 points successful the opening half. In summation to missing a 31-yard tract goal, Zuerlein had an other constituent clank disconnected the near upright successful the 2nd quarter.

Seven of the Cowboys’ archetypal 8 possessions either started oregon ended successful Tampa Bay territory, yet Prescott inactive faced a nine-point shortage earlier Dallas pulled wrong 28-26 connected Amari Cooper’s 21-yard scoring reception with little than a infinitesimal remaining successful the 3rd quarter.

Cooper finished with 13 catches for 139 yards, including a 5-yard TD drawback successful the 2nd quarter. CeeDee Lamb had a 22-yard scoring reception for the Cowboys, who finished 6-10 with Prescott missing the last 11 games of past season.

Brady completed 32 of 50 passes and was intercepted twice, 1 connected a Hail Mary walk astatine the extremity of the archetypal half. Ronald Jones and Chris Godwin besides mislaid fumbles, with the latter’s mistake preventing the Bucs from putting distant the crippled successful the closing minutes.

Brown had 5 receptions for 121 yards, including a 43-yard TD earlier halftime. Godwin had 9 catches for 105 yards but fumbled astatine the Cowboys’ 1 to halt a imaginable clinching thrust earlier Prescott drove Dallas to Zuerlein’s go-ahead tract goal.

FANS ON HAND

Due to attendance restrictions imposed due to the fact that of the pandemic, the largest assemblage for immoderate NFL crippled past play was 24,845 for the Super Bowl played astatine Raymond James Stadium successful February.

Fans arrived aboriginal Thursday nighttime for a little pregame ceremonial celebrating Tampa Bay’s 2nd title – the archetypal successful astir 2 decades. They roared erstwhile co-owner Bryan Glazer stepped to the microphone and reminded them that the Bucs are the lone franchise that’s claimed a crown connected its location turf.

“There was 1 happening missing,” Glazer said. “All of you.”

Earlier, the teams stood connected their respective extremity lines for the playing of Alicia Keys’ mentation of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the nationalist Black anthem.

INJURIES

Cowboys: Played without close defender Zack Martin, who tested affirmative for COVID-19 earlier this week.

Buccaneers: Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting near with an elbow wounded suffered trying to halt Lamb from scoring successful the archetypal quarter. The secondary was already playing without starting information Jordan Whitehead (hamstring).