The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their Super Bowl title defense on Sept. 9 against the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium. Per Rob Goldberg of Bleacher Report, the Buccaneers are 6.5-point favorites over the Cowboys, based on latest odds released by DraftKings. Also, Tom Brady is 5-0 in his career against the Cowboys during his 20-year stint with the New England Patriots, throwing 10 touchdown passes with two interceptions. Brady’s last victory against the Cowboys came in 2019 when he led the Patriots to a close 13-9 triumph against quarterback Dak Prescott and company.

That’s why Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is worried about his team chances against the defending Super Bowl champions. "We're going to have a lot of prayer, so we could get the courage to show up," Jones joked on Back Together Saturday, per Adam Maya of NFL.com. "Let me tell you this: world-champion Tom Brady, Tampa, great atmosphere -- what a better opportunity to step up there and be David against Goliath,” he added. Prescott, for his part, said he’s excited for the challenge in facing the Buccaneers in their season-opener. “I'm excited for these guys to go out there and improve off of last year,” Prescott said, referring to the Cowboys’ 6-10 record last season. Brady, for his part, expressed excitement over facing the Cowboys in Week 1, sharing a photo of the Buccaneers’ social media post regarding their clash with Dallas on his Instagram story.

Brady then accompanied it with the caption “9/9 can’t come soon enough. Excited to open against ‘America’s Team’”.

Arians not satisfied with Sunday’s practice

For the second straight day, the Buccaneers practiced wore pads during practice on Sunday.

Per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, head coach Bruce Arians said he’s pleased with the team’s effort and spear but he expressed his displeasure on the team’s overall performance. “But I'm not seeing the smart. We've got to be a much smarter football team,” Arians said as he assessed his team’s performance. After looking at yesterday’s practice, the veteran head coach said the team had too many mental errors, especially on the part of their young wide receivers.

“It's time for them to grow up,” said Arians. According to Carmen Vitali of Buccaneers.com, Brady became frustrated at one point due to the excellent performance from their defense. After what would have been a third-down sack, Brady took the football and punted it to the next field over, according to Vitali.

Arians confident about team’s vaccination

According to a report by Luke Easterling of USA Today, Arians told the media that his team is close to 100 percent being vaccinated. Before their first game against the Cowboys, Arians said he expects 100 percent of his players to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).