Henry Roldán
The week of Wild Card games in the 2023 NFL postseason wraps up next Monday with an incredible Monday Night Football. Cowboys vs Buccaneers square off for a spot in the National Conference.
Dallas finished a great season as the first wild card in the NFC, and it even fought until the last week for the NFC East lead and the best record in the conference. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay won the NFC South with great difficulty, and now it is the only divisional champion of these playoffs with a negative record.
Let’s remember that these two teams met during the first week of the regular round of this campaign and the Buccaneers won 19-3. At JefeBet we bring you the best preview of this important clash between the Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Wild Card Game on January 16, 2023
- Where: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, Florida.
- When: Monday, January 16, 2023 – 8:15 PM E.T.
Odds provided by BetMGM.
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Betting on the Dallas Cowboys
- Regular Season Record: 12-5 (1st wild card – 5th seed NFC)
- BetMGM Spread: -3.0
- BetMGM Moneyline: -145
- BetMGM Over/Under: 45.5
The Cowboys finished with a 12-5 record for the second campaign in a row. However, this time they did not win the NFC East championship because of the Eagles’ great performance, who finished with the best record in the National Conference.
Despite being without Dak Prescott for several weeks, Cooper Rush did a great job as the leader of the offense. After the return of their starting quarterback, the Cowboys’ offense became much more dangerous, to the point of scoring at least 27 touchdowns in nine of their last ten games.
While Prescott continues to show inconsistencies in his performances, he is a step above Rush, and that keeps opponents from being able to completely focus on Dallas’ ground attack. The duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard finished as one of the best in the league, which is why they were ninth in total rushing yards, and second in touchdowns with 24.
On the defensive side, things are looking up for Dallas, as this unit is considered one of the top five defenses in the NFL. The key to this is being the best team in recovered fumbles with a total of 33. Also, they were third in catches of opposing quarterbacks with 54.
That should be added to the fact that it is very hard to overcome their secondary, which finished in the top 10 with the less amount of total yards and net yards per pass conceded. Dallas finished seventh in interceptions. On the ground, the opponents gained a lot of yards, but the Cowboys allowed the third lowest amount of touchdowns in the NFL, with only nine TDs.
Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Regular Season Record: 8-9 (NFC South Champion – 4th seed NFC)
- BetMGM Spread: +3.0
- BetMGM Moneyline: +120
- BetMGM Over/Under: 45.5
Despite being NFC South champions for the second campaign in a row, the Buccaneers’ performance did not live up to the expectations, and even until the penultimate week of the regular round, their place in the postseason was not assured.
The main problem with this team is that their offense failed to produce aeven with the presence of Tom Brady on the field. Only twice did they manage to score more than 30 points, and thanks to one of the worst ground offenses in the league, they finished in the 25th place in points scored with just 325.
Meanwhile, through passes, they were first in attempted passes (751), second in total passing yards (4,586), and twelfth in TD completed passes (26). The Bucs finished last in rushing attempts (386), total rushing yards (1.308), touchdowns on the ground (5), and average yards per carry (3.4).
Due to this low production, Tampa Bay’s defense was more demanding, and in most of the games, they were able to respond. With 358 points received, they finished in 13th place in the NFL, and they were the 5th team with the fewest first downs allowed to opponents with 314.
A positive thing for the Buccaneers is that they perform the best when stopping the opposing ground attack, precisely the offensive strength of the Cowboys. Through passes, they allowed 29 TDs, the fifth highest figure in the circuit, and on the ground, they were fifteenth in total yards and tenth in touchdowns, which helped them finish as the seventh best team inside the red zone with an efficiency of 62.5% .
JefeBet Prediction
The Cowboys offense had a spectacular second half of the season, but the six points scored last week against the Commanders, with a rather poor performance from Prescott, brings doubts about how the team will respond on Monday against the good defense of the Buccaneers.
It is clear that with Dallas’ defense and Tampa Bay’s offensive problems, it will be very difficult for Tom Brady and the rest of the team to respond if the visiting team performs in an explosive way, like we got used to seeing this year.
That is precisely where the key to the game is. We already know what Brady can do in the postseason, he is a totally different quarterback, and we saw that two campaigns ago when he led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win.
Another fact to take into account is that Tampa Bay saw the Under in 11 of their 17 games they have played. Moreover, in six of the last seven games they played between the two, the game ended with the under.
Prediction: Under (DAL 16 – TB 19).
