NFC Playoffs Set: Buccaneers Will Host Cowboys in Wild Card Round

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South Division is less-than-impressive fashion, they'll still host an NFC Playoff game, and now we know the opponent.

David Harrison | Jan 8, 2023

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The chances that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would host the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round of the NFC Playoffs next weekend were pretty high entering Week 18.

Following the Philadelphia Eagles win over the New York Giants, it is now confirmed that quarterback Dak Prescott will lead his Cowboys into Raymond James Stadium next weekend to face the Bucs.

While Tampa Bay fell to the Atlanta Falcons 30-17, that result didn't have an impact on which team would visit west Florida in the first week of the postseason.

That's because the Buccaneers already clinched their division - their first back-to-back NFC South titles in franchise history - last weekend with a win over the Carolina Panthers.

The win gave Tom Brady and the Bucs not just the title of division champions once again, but also the fourth seed in the NFC.

And a win or loss this weekend did nothing to impact that standing.

With that business secured, the Buccaneers had very little to play for outside of coach Todd Bowles telling us there were things he still wanted to see his starting unit get reps in, and improve upon.

After losing to the Falcons, Tampa Bay's 2022 NFL Season will go in the books as an 8-9 effort, Brady's first losing season as a starting quarterback.

With that, the Wild Card game will be a rematch of the Week 1 contest this season between the two, which was won by the Bucs, 19-3.

In all, the Buccaneers have beaten Dallas the last two times they faced each other, and have won three of the last five contests.

Of course, Brady has never lost to the Cowboys in seven tries.

The regular season is over, and next up is a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Wipe the slates clean. Everyone is 0-0.

With any luck, the end of the postseason will bring Brady's eighth Super Bowl win, and the Bucs' third in franchise history.

Buckle up.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.

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Published Jan 8, 2023

DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has been in sports media since 2015 using written, audio, and video media to cover athletes, coaches, and games. In addition to covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for BucsGameday and Locked On Bucs he also covers the Washington Commanders for Commander Country and Locked On Commanders and the Washington Wizards for Inside the Wizards. David also covers the NFL as a whole as one of the Friday hosts for Locked On NFL. He is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and previously spent 20 years as an active member of the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.