NFL KICKOFF GAME: DALLAS COWBOYS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

BY ADAM GREENE

And so it begins. The NFL season officially starts Thursday night when the team everyone wants to see, the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, takes on the team we’re all already sick of looking at, the Dallas Cowboys in the annual NFL Kickoff Game in Tampa,, Fla.

It’s the first action in nearly two weeks for both teams as the Buccaneers finished up their meaningless preseason with a 23-16 victory over the Houston Texans and the Cowboys managed to go completely winless in the exhibition campaign in spite of playing an extra game.

DALLAS COWBOYS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-8, O/U: 52)

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.

Broadcast: NBC

Kickoff: Sept. 9, 8:20 p.m. EST

DALLAS COWBOYS (0-0)

If you’re still excited about the prospects of the Dallas Cowboys 2021 season, you obviously have missed out on the latest installment of HBO’s Hard Knocks. Now, most of us, outside of Jerry Jones, didn’t need this kind of evidence into Mike McCarthy’s coaching ineptitude, but even knowing what we knew coming in, that the man is a waddling disaster, it’s still been kind of shocking.

Whether it’s completely losing track of his quarterback’s practice reps coming off an injury (getting Dak Prescott hurt for the entire preseason) or deciding that the best way to motivate his team was through Austin Powers quotes, McCarthy is not the man for this job or any job in the NFL. This is a person who should be leading a study hall or teaching Driver’s Ed. before coaching the offensive line and at a West Virginia high school.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (0-0)

One of the issues teams have in trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions is attrition. Their rosters are raided in free agency because their star players are so expensive to keep. That hasn’t happened with the Bucs and they bring back all 22 offensive and defensive starters from last year’s club and most of the backups too. This is a team better, on paper, than the 2020 unit that blasted the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl 31-9.

THE PICK

The line on this has gone up half a point in a matter of days. By kickoff, it could be up to -9 because no one believes this game will be close. And it’s not because of the Cowboys roster. It’s one of the better groups, especially on offense, in the league. It’s all because of McCarthy and the presumed coaching match up between him and Bruce Arians made me laugh as I just typed it out. Arians, Brady and the rest of the Bucs had the entire offseason to prepare for this game. So did McCarthy and his crew. Which do you think will make their performance actually look like it? Yeah. Me too. Bucs 34, Cowboys 23

The NFL season is officially upon us. Place your bets on the Week One schedule at BetOnline.AG.

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