Dallas Cowboys: Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sneaky great matchup

The Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing off in a very underrated matchup of NFC contenders on Sunday night football…

NFL prime time games don’t always have the best matchups, but it seems like Sunday Night Football gets it right the majority of the time. Having the ability to flex games certainly helps, but this week’s matchup featuring the Dallas Cowboys (first place, 11-2) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second place, 8-5) is one that will captivate our attention.

The Dallas Cowboys are fresh off of their second loss of the season, both losses coming against the New York Giants and sandwiching an 11-game winning streak. The Buccaneers are fighting for first place in the NFC South, which is a bit out of their control but they can certainly help their cause greatly by beating the top seeded team currently in the NFC.

Dallas has won a number of close games this year, dare I say…lucky?

The Cowboys’ ability to close games with their elite running game and the very charismatic play of Dak Prescott are not to be diminished in any way, but they have certainly been fortunate to be in the position they have been in while not forcing very many turnovers this year.

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This is a huge game for both teams. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like the Cowboys have a heck of a lot at stake with a two-game lead in the division, but with both of their losses coming at the hands of the Giants, it’s imperative the Cowboys don’t blow another game before their matchup against New York.

If the Cowboys finish with four losses, and the Giants finish with the same, the NFC East will belong to the Giants due to head-to-head matchups. If the Cowboys can win a home game against the Buccaneers, who are a very intriguing team, they will have a pretty comfortable lead with two games left in the season over the Giants.

The keys to this game?

Can the Cowboys best a very underrated, very tough Tampa Bay defense? Can Dallas figure out a way to stop Mike Evans?

The last question may be the toughest one to answer. Not many teams this season (save for the AFC West, apparently…) have had much luck defending Evans. He’s been one of the most dominant receivers in the league this year, and is coming off of a couple of pretty off games.

Perhaps he can bounce back against the Cowboys and help the Bucs get a tough road victory, but again, the key for Dallas in this game is going to be figuring out a way to create turnovers and get Ezekiel Elliott established early and often.

This should be a very fun game on Sunday night.

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