That Bucs win was a snoozefest, but we'll take 16 more

For a first NFL Sunday filled with close games, game-winning kicks both missed and made, and even a tie, the Sunday night game between the Bucs and Cowboys was a bit of a dud.

Though the Bucs won 19-3, giving TB12 and Co. their first win of the season over Dallas for a second straight year, as an actual football game it was a bit of a snoozefest.

The Cowboys kicked off the scoring in their first drive with a field goal… then failed to score for the rest of the game. The Bucs responded with a pair of field goals over the next two quarters (yeah, Succop missed one, don’t remind me), taking a 12-3 lead into halftime.

The second half was more of the same, with the Bucs adding onto their lead on a gorgeous Mike Evans TD catch on a fade route into the end zone, finishing out the scoring for the game.

While the Bucs defense certainly played well on all three levels, applying pressure and playing some tight coverage in the secondary, limiting last year’s number one offense to 244 yards, they were buoyed by a Cowboy offensive line that looked lost out there without starting tackle Tyron Smith.

Dak—who ended up breaking his hand—had little to no time for most of the game, and it showed. He wasn’t able to go through his reads, and the Cowboy offense paid the price (if you’re reading this, you made it to the red zone the same amount of times the Cowboys did Sunday night).

The Bucs looked better than Dallas did offensively, but Brady and his receivers did look a little rusty at times. That’s to be expected; it was Week 1 after a preseason where the Bucs didn’t exactly play a lot of their starters the whole time. Hopefully they settle in a little more in next week’s game in New Orleans against those pesky Saints.

Speaking of the Saints, taking a look around the division, they were the only other team that won, with Carolina losing to the Browns on a game-winning field goal and the Falcons blowing a 16 point lead in the fourth quarter to the aforementioned Saints. It was no 28-3, but Atlanta continues to find new ways to miraculously blow big leads.

Shifting focus back to the Bucs, it’s important to not take too much stock into this first game. It’s exciting to get a win, and come playoff time it could be very important for seeding purposes, but big picture, it’s still just one game. It was Week 1.

So fire those cannons, but let’s not do much else.