Tom Brady leads Tampa to a close win over the Cowboys to open the 2021 NFL season!

Tampa Bay, Florida - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night to open the 2021 NFL regular season, raising their championship banner in their stadium as they look to make a run at a second-consecutive Super Bowl victory this year.

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady led his team to a last-second win on Thursday night to open the 2021 NFL season.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady led his team to a last-second win on Thursday night to open the 2021 NFL season.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Tom Brady (44) hasn’t seemed to have missed a step in this one, starting his 300th career game in his 22nd NFL season.

The Buccaneers beat the Cowboys on Thursday night 31-29 for their first win of the 2021 season.

The Bucs pulled out the last-second win thanks to Ryan Succop’s 36-yard game-winning field goal. Brady had 379 yards for four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Tampa had trouble protecting the football, losing two fumbles, also due to the injuries they sustained in their secondary, which allowed the Cowboys to take advantage.

Dallas’ Dak Prescott was back for his first regular-season game since a terrible ankle injury in Week 5 of last year put things to an abrupt halt.

He had slightly better numbers than Brady, completing 42 of 58 pass attempts for 403 yards, but only three touchdowns and one pick.

Dallas played most of the game trailing the Bucs, apart from a two-point lead they briefly had before halftime and a short-lived one-point advantage they had with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys were never more than nine points down as they kept trying to force an opening night upset.

Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper led his team with 13 catches for a game-high 139 yards and two touchdowns, while CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 104 yards and another score.

For the Bucs, Brady’s favorite target, Rob Gronkowski, caught eight passes, totaling up 90 yards and two touchdowns, while Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin each caught over 100 yards and a touchdown apiece in the win.

Next week, the Buccaneers welcome the Falcons into town, while the Cowboys will head to LA to take on the Chargers.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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