Get set for Bucs-Cowboys sequel in Tampa to open NFC playoffs As expected, the Bucs will open the postseason the same way they opened the regular season - with a nationally broadcast matchup against the Cowboys. The Eagles' 22-16 win Sunday against the Giants gave Philadelphia (14-3) the NFC East title, dropping Dallas (12-5) - a 26-6 loser to the Commanders - to the No. 5 seed. As the NFC South champion, the Bucs (8-9) earned the No. 4 seed and a home game for the wild-card round of the playoffs. The game will be played Monday, Jan. 16 at 8:15 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium (ESPN/ABC). The meeting will be the third between the teams since the start of the 2021 season. Tampa Bay won the 2021 opener (a Thursday night game) 31-29 at RayJay on a Ryan Succop 36-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. It got four more Succop field goals in a 19-3 embarrassment of Dallas Sept. 11 at AT&T Stadium. The Bucs, however, have lost both playoff meetings against the Cowboys, albeit in the 1981 and 1982 seasons. Of far greater relevance is the fact Dallas played arguably its worst game since that opening-night loss to the Bucs against the Commanders, who held the Cowboys to 182 total yards and a 4-for-18 effort on third down. Before that, the Cowboys had won eight of 10, a surge coinciding with the late-October return of quarterback Dak Prescott, who fractured his right thumb in the second half of the Week 1 encounter with the Bucs. The Cowboys - who sacked Tom Brady twice in the regular-season meeting - entered Week 18 ranked fourth in the NFL with 51 sacks. Pro Bowler Micah Parsons, who had both sacks of Brady in that game, ranks sixth in the league with 13.5. Joey Knight, The Tampa Bay Times, published 9 January 2023