This Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) welcome the new look Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1) into Cowboys Stadium for a battle of two teams looking to get above .500. Both the Cowboys and Bucs are coming off week 1 wins and week 2 losses. The Cowboys will look to avoid a sloppy start while the Bucs will look to finish strong. Last week the Cowboys were down 10-0 within the first 5 minutes against the Seahawks. On the other hand, the Bucs squandered a 2 TD lead in the 4th quarter against the Giants.
The Cowboys began last Sunday’s game with a fumbled kick off return, an interception and blocked punt that was returned for a TD. In order for them to win this weekend they will have to play better right out of the gate. When asked about the game, CB Brandon Carr told ESPN Dallas Calvin Watkins: “We just didn’t execute the full 60 minutes… We got to be able to sustain the same intensity and execution throughout the whole game and not just the first half. The first half we put up a pretty good fight but the second half we had some breakdowns and they took advantage of it.”
Despite the loss, team leader DeMarcus Ware has a positive outlook . “I felt better because there’s little things we could correct,” Ware said. “Little small things that in the first half we did what we were supposed to do. But coming out in the second half, we’re doing the same thing.”
One match up to keep an eye on this week is the Cowboys wide receivers versus the Bucs defensive backs. Last weekend the Bucs surrendered 510 yards in the air to the Giants talented receiving corps. If the Cowboys are going to be successful their offensive line will need to give Romo and his receivers time to get open. This could be the game where Dez Bryant breaks out of his recent funk (no TDs in 2 games).
Last year, in the middle of December the Cowboys dominated the Bucs 31-15. Don’t expect this game to be a blow out seeing as each team has improved since last year. Sunday afternoon look for a hard fought game between two teams with playoff aspirations.
