***SNF IN THE SWAMP - TB @ DAL***
***TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS @ DALLAS COWBOYS***
The young Tampa Bay Bucs are red hot at the moment after winning five straight and have hopes of obtaining a playoff seed while sitting at the top of the NFC South, tied with the Atlanta Falcons. As I sit and type this, the Falcons are currently rolling over the lowly SF 49ers at home in Atlanta as expected. That being said, the Bucs cannot afford to lose any games the rest of the way and have a very tough finish to their schedule with road games against Dallas & New Orleans and then finish with a home game against a rival Carolina Panther squad who would surely love to play spoiler with the post season already out of reach for them. The Cowboys have had their way with opponents this season, all but one as the New York Giants beat them for the second time last weekend on SNF, handing Dallas their second and only two losses of the year. The Cowboys have been led behind the play of the Rookie duo of QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekial Elliot behind arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. However, Prescott has struggled the last few outings and the Cowboys have only put up a total of three offensive touchdowns in the last two games. Those games were on the road in Minnesota and NY and up against stout defenses. Two weeks ago in Minnesota, in a game I believe the Cowboys should've lost, that the Vikings laid out the blueprint on how to frustrate this mighty Cowboys offense, and then the Giants followed suit. It isn't rocket science however, stop or at least slow down the running game and force Prescott to beat you. Up against two strong secondaries, Dak was unable to get it done and has finally started to show his true Rookie colors. Tampa's defense has really come on strong throughout the second half of this year and has been playing with confidence. If healthy, they have the tools necessary to try and mimic what the Vikings and Giants were able to do. It looks like LB Lavonte David and DT Gerald McCoy will give it a go tonight which is HUGE for this Buccaneer defense. Tampa has the talent at LB with David and Kwon Alexander to help McCoy try and stuff the Dallas run game, and I think they rise to the occasion.
Despite his young age, Bucs QB Jameis Winston has proven to be a leader of men and his teammates are buying into what he is preaching. He is big on selling the total team effort and "play as a family" spiel and the results have showed that it is working. Ever since RB Doug Martin returned this offense has really taken off. The ability of Martin to run between the tackles has helped open up the passing game and keep defenses guessing. Winston has built a serious rapport with WR Mike Evans and TE Cameron Brate and the Bucs should also return WR Adam Humphries tonight who has been another big time target for Jameis this season as well. The Cowboy defense has really surprised me with how well they've played despite the lack of big name players, especially in the secondary. After getting lit up on Thanksgiving by Kirk Cousins and the Redskins, the Dallas defense has been solid. However I believe Winston will get his shots to beat these guys deep and will take advantage. Dallas has been very comfortable at home but I believe they are beginning to unravel a bit and good 'ol Jerry Jones has done us a huge favor with planting the Romo seed in the minds of Cowboy Nation once again. I will never understand this guy and why he does the things he does, but I got to believe the mentioning of Romo does not do the struggling psyche of the Rookie QB any good. It is almost as if Jones wants Dak to stumble more so that he has an excuse to insert his buddy Romo and unfortunately for Dak, I think it is inevitable. The playoffs are near and what better media oozing story than the return of QB Tony Romo just in time to lead America's Team into the playoffs. How does this seed of Tony Romo bloom one may ask? The answer is simple, if the Dak and the Dallas offense were to struggle again here against the Bucs tonight, I can guarantee you we will see Tony behind center again, hell I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the second half here tonight! Needless to say Swampy is on the Bucs here with the generous points in a game where I fully expect Tampa to solidify themselves amongst the NFC as a true contender and threat in the playoffs in case there were any doubters left. It is just a Swampy hunch that both the former first and second overall draft picks in QBs Jameis Winston and Tennessee's Marcus Mariota lead their respective teams into the playoffs this season for the first time. BUCCANEERS+7
