The Dallas Cowboys open the NFL season against the defending Super Bowl Champions, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be an early test for the Dallas Cowboys, who are coming off a 6-10 record after losing Quarterback Dak Prescott in Game Five of the 2020 season. They have made changes to their defensive coaching staff after one season under Mike Nolan, who was a part of Mike McCarthy’s initial coaching staff when he was named head coach of the Cowboys. They brought in former Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Dan Quinn to rekindle the defense. Quinn is known for his resilient defenses during his time in Seattle, which we know as the “Legion of Boom.” The Cowboys brought in some players this off-season, rather it is from free agency or the draft like Micah Parsons, Jabril Cox, Kelvin Joseph, Malik Hooker, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Tarell Basham. They already have a high-powered offense led by Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, and one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
The opponent the Dallas Cowboys will be facing, coming off their first Super Bowl win since 2002, is The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are primed to play for another championship with the work of Jason Licht bringing the majority of the team back from last season. They are led by Bruce Arians who is no stranger to success; even as an assistant coach winning two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have a deep roster with a good offensive group led by Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones II, and Rob Gronkowski. They are coming off an 11-5 record last season which is a four-win improvement in only the season under the Arians Regime. The offense isn’t the only thing holding up the Buccaneers as their defense stifled and quiet the high-power offense of the Kansas City Chiefs in route to securing their second Championship in franchise history.
According to the official websites of The Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Buccaneers, these are the current starters for both offense and defense:
Dallas Cowboys
Offense:
QB: Dak Prescott
RB: Ezekiel Elliot
WR: Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup
TE: Dalton Schultz
LT: Tyron Smith
LG: Connor Williams
C: Tyler Biadasz
RG: Zack Martin
RT: La’el Collins
Defense:
DE: DeMarcus Lawrence
DT: Oza Odighizuwa
DT: Carlos Watkins
DE: Randy Gregory
MLB: Jaylon Smith
SLB: Micah Parsons
WLB: Leighton Vander Esch
CB: Trevon Diggs
CB: Anthony Brown
NB: Jourdan Lewis
SS: Donovan Wilson
FS: Damontae Kazee
Special Teams:
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Bryan Anger
LS: Jake McQuaide
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Offense:
QB: Tom Brady
RB: Ronald Jones II
WR: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin
TE: Rob Gronkowski, OJ Howard
LT: Donovan Smith
LG: Ali Marpet
C: Ryan Jensen
RG: Alex Cappa
RT: Tristan Wirfs
Defense:
DL: Ndamukong Suh
NT: Vita Vea
DL: William Gholston
OLB: Jason Pierre-Paul
ILB: Devin White
ILB: Lavonte David
OLB: Shaquil Barrett
CB: Carlton Davis
CB: Sean Murphy-Bunting
S: Antoine Whitfield Jr.
S: Jordan Whitehead
Special Teams:
K: Ryan Succop
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Zach Triner
The Keys to the Game:
- The new-look Cowboys D must stop Tom Brady and the Bucs Offense.
- The Dallas Cowboys are going to have to be creative on offense to pick apart the Bucs defense.
- The Cowboys must capitalize every time they have the ball and score.