Cowboys LIVE VIDEO in Tampa: Top 10 Predictions, Final Score Over Bucs

At this moment, my sense is that "nervousness'' has been replaced by "confidence.'' Here, a 10-point breakdown of Cowboys at Bucs, including my final-score playoff prediction.

TAMPA - A year ago, the Dallas Cowboys admitted to "nervousness'' as a factor in their first-round home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

At this moment, my sense is that "nervousness'' has been replaced by "confidence.''

Why?

Maybe it's about a level of experience this group under coach Mike McCarthy now possesses as it readies to face the Buccaneers Monday night in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs at Raymond James Stadium here in Tampa.

Or maybe its about preparation and film study that has the Cowboys believing, simply, that they are the superior team.

After a 12-5 season for the Cowboys and an underwhelming 8-9 record for the Buccaneers, the two teams meet with their seasons on the line. Playoff football is high stakes, and everything is magnified, but the Cowboys insist they are not feeling the pressure here.

And I'm buying it ... to the tune of a 24-23 Dallas win. Watch below for my 10-point breakdown ...

"No nervousness,'' T.Y. Hilton said. "We got to give it everything we got in the classroom to the field and give us a chance to win."

Added Dak Prescott: “All we can be thankful for is to have that opportunity to respond, and what a great moment as we move forward Monday.”

And, from Micah Parsons said. “There are guys on this team who are not the same guys they were three or four years ago. That’s why young guys like me are here, because we’ve got to step up. We’ve got to understand this is our moment. ...

"This,'' Parsons said, "is where legends are made.”

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.