The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will begin their Super Bowl title defense on Thursday (Sept. 9) against the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium, where they made history as they became the first team in NFL history to win a Lombardi Trophy at home. The Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl since 2002 by dethroning the then-defending champions Kansas City with a 31-9 win in Super Bowl LV. Now, it’s a thing of a past and the Buccaneers are looking forward to winning back-to-back Super Bowl titles, a feat last achieved by the 2003-04 New England Patriots.
With 44-year-old Brady as their quarterback and 22 starters from their Super Bowl-winning squad back, the Buccaneers are heavily favored to repeat this season. But first, they must hurdle their first obstacle of the season when they take on the Cowboys on Thursday. Brady earlier declared that it would be best for the Buccaneers to face a good team such as the Cowboys. Brady has a 5-0 career mark against the Cowboys, and Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy is very well aware of the veteran quarterback’s success, not just against his team, but throughout the NFL.
McCarthy wowed by Brady’s ability
In a report by Grant Gordon of NFL.com, McCarthy said he’s very impressed with Brady’s longevity and consistent success in the NFL.
"Well, I think, like anything – a lot of things, about his game – but longevity. It's difficult to win a championship in this league," McCarthy replied when asked what he appreciated most of Brady's game. McCarthy said it’s hard to win one Super Bowl title and for Brady to do it seven times is “just unbelievable.” But for McCarthy, Brady’s ability to enjoy continued success for a long period of time is “tremendous quality.” McCarthy said he’s also impressed with Brady’s ability to perform at a high level for a very long time.
McCarthy also hopes that his players would learn from this valuable experience of playing against Brady and would eventually pay dividends for the team this season. McCarthy did not provide Brady a bulletin board material for their Thursday’s clash, unlike his rookie defensive tackle Osa Odghizuwa, who said that the veteran quarterback is not too mobile.
Bucs focused on Week 1 clash vs Cowboys
Per Luke Easterling of USA Today, the Buccaneers are locked in for their Week 1 clash against the Cowboys, which they would play in front of a national audience. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said his team has already transitioned from preseason to the regular season by intensifying their practice and their communication. “The coaches have had the plan for a long time, so we’ve had plenty of time to digest it and see what we like and what we don’t like,” said Arians. The Buccaneers lost their first two preseason games to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans but bounced back with an impressive win over the Houston Texans in the finale.
