Cowboys defeat Bucs: How Dallas became the NFC East Champions

The Dallas Cowboys 27-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday clinch the NFC East for the third time in five years.

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys took it into their own hands to capture the NFC East for the third time in five seasons, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20.

The Cowboys jumped all over the Bucs in the first quarter of the game, a seven-yard when quarterback Dak Prescott gave the Boys an early 7-3 lead of a seven-year touchdown run.

With 1:50 left in the first quarter, a play fans once thought was never possible happened. Both once considered “head scratchers” of draft picks, defensive end Randy Gregory and linebacker Jaylon Smith combined to make a highlight reel play.

On third and five, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was striped-sacked by Gregory, which resulted in a Smith “scoop and score” 69-yard touchdown. On that play Jaylon showed off speed that some thought he would never be capable of again following a devastating knee injury he suffered in college nearly three years ago.

After Tampa Bay’s kicker Cairo Santos kicked a 45-yard field goal to cut the Cowboys lead to 14-6, Dallas’ own kicker Brett Maher added a 59-yard field goal with 1:42 left in the first half. Maher’s 59-yarder is the second longest kick in Cowboys history, only trailing the 62-yard bomb he hit two weeks ago against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the third quarter, the red-zone woes continued for Dallas. After getting the ball down to the three-yard line, the Cowboys failed to punch it in. What’s new?

In the following possession, Winston fumbled giving the Cowboys great field position on the Buc’s own four-yard line with an opportunity to get the ball in the end zone.

Prescott found rookie wide receiver Michael Gallup in the back of the end zone, giving America’s Team the 27-13 advantage. Gallup finished the game with three receptions for 51 yards and a that score. The Buccaneers added a touchdown with 2:05 left in the game, which resulted in the final score of 27-20.

With this win, the Dallas Cowboys are atop the NFC East for the third time in five years. The roller coaster of a year continues. With the division clinched, I must give props to head coach Jason Garrett.

With this team once standing at 3-5, Garrett found a way for this team to buy in and believe winning the NFC East was possible. He receives a lot of criticism, but in this case, he deserves a lot of praise for turning the team around and guiding them to win six of their last seven contests.

Looking ahead at the NFL playoffs, it looks like the NFC East champs will take on the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Week Three ,24-13. With that being said, this Dallas team is not the same as it was in late September.