Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Know thy enemy

What We Think The Bucs Defensive Game Plan Will Be

Much like the offense, the Bucs’ defense ranked just as high coming in at fifth in overall defense and giving up just 20.8 points to opposing offenses. Tampa Bay’s front office also added some new playmakers to an already strong defensive unit. Akiem Hicks adds more juice on the defensive line. Carl Nassib brings an additional pass rush off the edge. And, Logan Ryan and former Cowboys Keanu Neal will help shore up that, at times, leaky secondary.

Last season, we saw what this defense wanted to do and that was to play bully ball and force teams to abandon the run and move the ball through the air. With the new additions to go along with Vita Vea and Shaq Barrett, you can see Tampa Bay’s desire to continue that same game plan. The additions in the secondary will make them far more confident in employing it.

In 2021, the Cowboys came out with a nice game plan, which was to run the ball on the outside to tire out that defensive line and pass rush which then gave Dak Prescott a little more time in the pocket to find open receivers.

The Cowboys should try and come out with that same approach now, especially without names like Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and James Washington. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard will be the key to this game. If they can control the clock and wear down this defensive line, the Cowboys have a good chance of winning this time around.