Dallas opened as a 3-point favourite on the NFL odds.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

When it was clear that the Cowboys were going to face the Bucs in this round, there was never any doubt the NFL was going to make it the Monday night game as Dallas is the marquee team in the league and Tom Brady is the marquee player.

In his Hall of Fame career, Brady has a 35-12 playoff record, which equals the number of postseason wins the Cowboys have in franchise history. They have had 11 straight playoff appearances without a trip to the conference championship, the longest streak in NFL history.

These teams opened the 2022 regular season at AT&T Stadium, and Tampa Bay won 19-3 as the Cowboys scored on their first possession and then obviously not again. They had just 244 yards and lost starting QB Dak Prescott to a thumb injury in the game – it would end up costing him five full games. Brady threw for 212 yards with a TD and a pick, while Leonard Fournette rushed for 127 yards. Dating to his Patriots days, Brady is 7-0 career vs. Dallas.

The road team is 4-0 against the spread in the past four meetings.

Dallas Cowboys

For the most part, Dallas had nothing to play for on Sunday – it had a long-shot chance to win the NFC East as well as earn the conference’s top seed but not a realistic chance – and looked truly awful in a 26-6 loss at Washington. Dak Prescott had a pick-six, his seventh straight game with at least one interception (three pick-sixes in past four). He finished the season with a co-leading 15 picks, becoming the first player to lead or share the lead when missing at least five games. The Dallas offence had been playing great since his return from a thumb injury prior to Sunday. Mike McCarthy is the first Cowboys coach to deliver back-to-back playoff berths since Chan Gailey in 1998-99, but don’t be shocked if McCarthy is fired with a loss here as owner Jerry Jones is running out of patience to return to the Super Bowl and could hire former Saints coach Sean Payton or promote defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to replace McCarthy. The Cowboys are 1-4-1 ATS in their past six on the road.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s very possible this could be Tom Brady’s last game as a member of the Bucs with a loss – rumours are flying he could sign with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency or simply retire. At age 45, he was third in the NFL with 4,694 passing yards and broke his own 2021 league record with 490 completions but there were definitely times TB12 looked close to the end this season. He only played a bit more than a quarter on Sunday as the Bucs lost a meaningless game in Atlanta with the No. 4 seed locked as the NFC champions. Dallas is one of four teams that Brady has never lost to (Atlanta had been one until Sunday) along with Tampa Bay, New England and Minnesota. The Bucs finished 8-9 this year, Brady’s first-ever losing record. No team in history has reached a conference championship game after finishing the regular season with a losing record. The Bucs are 2-7-1 ATS in their past 10 at home.

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Cowboys vs. Buccaneers?