Tom Brady throws for 379 yards and four touchdowns - Rob Gronkowski hauling in two of them - as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get their Super Bowl defence off to a winning start; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott impresses on his return from injury, throwing for 403 yards and three TDs
Sunday 12 September 2021 18:10, UK
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got their title defence off to a winning start as they edged out the Dallas Cowboys 31-29 in a thrilling shootout at Raymond James Stadium to open the 2021 NFL season.
Tampa Bay picked up right where they left off when winning Super Bowl LV in the same stadium seven months ago. Tom Brady continued to defy his advancing years, the 44-year-old throwing for 379 yards and four touchdowns - Rob Gronkowski again hauling in two of them, the second of which was his and Brady's 100th.
But the Bucs perhaps weren't banking on the Cowboys being this good and pushing them quite so close. Dak Prescott, making his NFL return after nearly a year out to a horrific ankle injury, threw for 403 yards and three TDs. The defense played their part too, forcing four turnovers.
In a see-sawing contest, Greg Zuerlein hit a 48-yard field goal to give Dallas the lead with 89 seconds remaining, but that was too much time for Brady, with the seven-time Super Bowl winner marching his team down the field to set up Ryan Succop's game-winning kick in the dying seconds.
Buccaneers
It's hard to pick out just one, with neither Brady nor Prescott deserving to finish on the losing side after the performances they put in under center.
Gronkowski was, typically, a constant redzone threat, while Antonio Brown's rapport with Brady continues to grow stronger.
Chris Godwin had a costly drop to end one fourth-quarter drive and fumbled to finish another - Damontae Kazee showing great hustle to punch the ball loose near the goal line and Jourdan Lewis scooping it up - but he came up clutch on the game-winning drive, as his 24-yard reception down the left sideline moved the Bucs into field goal position.
As impressively as they played, it's a case of what could have been for the Cowboys. Putting up 29 points on the road against this ferocious Bucs defense - one which held Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to just nine in Super Bowl LV - is no small feat, but they left more out on the field.
From the four turnovers forced by the defense, Dallas scored just 12 points - two field goals and one second-quarter touchdown in which Zuerlein, who had a bit of a shaky night, failed to tack on the extra point. Zuerlein also missed with a 60-yard field goal attempt shortly before half-time.
The Buccaneers went into the break leading 21-16 after Brady found Brown with a beautiful delivery deep ball for a 47-yard touchdown to overturn the Cowboys' slender lead they'd earned off the back of a Ronald Jones fumble and Brady pick - deflected out of the hands of Leonard Fournette - on consecutive plays from scrimmage.
Dallas reclaimed that slim advantage late in the fourth quarter off the back off Godwin's fumble, but they ultimately suffered the same fate as many unfortunate teams before them, watching on as Brady set up a game-winning drive in the final minute.
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