(WGNO) — If this past weekend’s games are any indication, the NFC Wildcard matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and NFC South division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on ABC Monday night (Jan. 16) should be a barnburner.
The Cowboys, who finished second in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), hope to put an end to Tom Brady’s perfect record against Dallas at 7-0, and thus end his bid for an 11th Super Bowl appearance, eighth win.
Both teams are coming off unexpected losses to close out the regular season, including the Cowboys’ 26-6 to the Washington Commanders (8-8-1) and the Bucs’ 30-17 to the Atlanta Falcons (7-10).
Despite the fact that Tampa Bay is in the playoffs with a losing record (8-9), Dallas is only favored by 2.5 points with an over/under of 45.5 points on the game.
This is the third straight season Tom Brady has guided the Bucs to the playoffs after taking the team to a Super Bowl LV win in his first season in Tampa, and a Divisional Round loss to eventual NFL champion, the Los Angeles Rams last year.
The Cowboys have only gotten past the Wild Card round four times since last winning a Super Bowl at the end of the 1995 season.
The game will be broadcast on WGNO and ABC.
Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.