As Tom Brady prepares for his 20th career playoff appearance, the Buccaneers quarterback has been enveloped by even more commotion than usual given his unblemished record against Tampa’s wild-card round opponent, the Cowboys.
For his career, Brady owns a 7–0 mark against Dallas, including a 19–3 primetime win inside AT&T Stadium to begin the 2022 season. But when the two teams square off on Jan. 16, they will do so on the Bucs’ turf at Raymond James Stadium on Monday Night Football in a matchup with considerably higher stakes than any of Brady’s previous seven meetings, all of which occurred in the regular season.
During his media availability on Friday, Brady was quick to dismiss the fact that he’s never lost to the Cowboys by harping on the importance of focusing on Monday’s matchup, and not getting caught up in the past.
“Yeah, they’ve got a great team,” Brady said, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I’ve played them quite a bit over the years and I have a lot of respect for the organization, their history, a lot of great players. But all of it’s about three hours on Sunday—Monday night—and everything’s going to come down to what we do those three hours.
“Nothing in the past, nothing about the color jerseys we’re wearing. It’s who’s playing, what we’re doing, how we’re executing, how we’re executing under pressure. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
While it should come as no surprise that Brady remained business as usual ahead of Monday’s mega matchup, the storyline of his previous success against Dallas is sure to remain a focal point as kickoff draws near.
Both teams have experienced their share of highs and lows since Week 1, but for Brady, the journey to playoffs was one filled with uncertainty after Tampa Bay (8–9) narrowly earned a berth with a win over the Panthers for the NFC South title in Week 17. The 45-year-old enters the playoffs looking to prove once again why he’s the GOAT after leading an inconsistent Bucs offense throughout the season.
Against the Cowboys in Week 1, Brady completed 18 of 27 passes for 212 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He finished the year with 490 completions, breaking his previous record of 485 in ’21, on a record 733 attempts for 4,694 yards, 25 TDs and nine INTs.
