Buccaneers start title defense, NFL season against Cowboys

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The first NFL game of the 2021 season kicks off on the same field as the 2020 finale, when the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys at 8:20 p.m. EDT Thursday in Tampa, Fla.

The Buccaneers are favored to defend their title and to beat the Cowboys in Week 1 at Raymond James Stadium. Coverage airs on NBC and streams on Peacock.

"I feel like we have a great opportunity ahead of us, and anytime you start the season and it's the first game of the year, it's pretty exciting," Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady told reporters Tuesday.

"I know the stadium will be packed and it will be an exciting night for all of us. We worked pretty hard to get to this point."

Unlike last season, Raymond James Stadium will allow full capacity at its regular-season games in 2021, despite the pandemic.

About 65,000 fans are expected, compared to the 16,000-fan allowance for 2020 games in Tampa. Masks are not required, but encouraged, for those who attend the season opener.

Each NFL team will allow full-capacity stadiums this season. Some will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test results before entry.

The matchup between Brady, one of the most-successful players in NFL history, and the Cowboys, one of the league's most-popular franchises, headlines the NFL's first 17-game regular season.

"I'm excited to start a new chapter and redeem myself from last year," Cowboys running back Elliott Elliott told reporters last week.

The longest season in NFL history started with a shortened preseason and extends to Jan. 9. The playoffs start Jan. 15. Fourteen additional games air Sunday and one airs Monday to conclude Week 1.

Buccaneers favored

Brady's Buccaneers return all 22 starters from their Super Bowl squad. They are eight-point favorites to edge the Cowboys, who went 6-10 and missed the playoffs last year.

"Offensively, it's about Ezekiel [Elliott], because it all starts with him and that big offensive line," Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told reporters Tuesday. "They're going to try to run the football, so we've got to get them in a one-dimensional game there.

"Defensively, those two outside pass-rushers, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory -- they can disrupt a ballgame. Our tackles are going to have to play a great game [and] our tight ends are going to have to do a heck of a job in the running game."

The Buccaneers went 11-5 last season, behind a Top 10 defense and offense. They ranked third in points scored and seventh in yards gained. The Buccaneers allowed the eighth-fewest points and sixth-fewest yards in the NFL. They ended their season with eight-consecutive wins.

The Cowboys' offense started off hot in 2020, but starting quarterback Dak Prescott sustained a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. They went on to lose six of their next seven games and posted their first losing season since 2015.

Dallas allowed the fifth-most points and ranked 17th in points scored in 2020. They also finished the season with the worst rush defense in the NFC, allowing 158.8 yards per game on the ground.

The Cowboys attempted to improve their defense with several acquisitions in the 2021 NFL Draft and through free agency this off-season, but the Buccaneers offense should again prove difficult to stop. The Buccaneers' off-season focus addressed offensive skill positions and secondary personnel groups.

COVID-19 already made an impact on the NFL season opener. Cowboys starting right guard Zack Martin is not expected play because he tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend.

Martin, an All-Pro, is one of the Cowboys' best players and his absence will likely lead to more pressure on Prescott from the Buccaneers' defensive line.

Vaccination rates

Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians announced last week that his team is 100% vaccinated. The NFL's vaccination rate for its nearly 1,700 active players is 93.5%, a league spokesperson told UPI on Thursday. All teams are at least 80% vaccinated, and 17 teams are at least 95% vaccinated.

The Atlanta Falcons are the only other NFL team to announce that all players on their 53-man roster are vaccinated. The Cowboys announced in late August that all of their coaches and 93% of their players were vaccinated.

Earlier this off-season, several NFL coaches and players said they believe vaccinations could be a competitive advantage in 2021.

Vaccinated players who test positive for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic can return if they submit two negative test results 24 hours apart. Non-vaccinated players who test positive must isolate for 10 days. Non-vaccinated players who are close contacts must isolate for five days.

Those isolation periods could result in missed games for key players and could impact teams' ability to win games.

"I think we're certainly at more risk this year than we put ourselves in last year," Brady said. "Just look at all the different things that we're doing differently from last year at this time.

"I'd definitely say the risk is up for everybody. It would be very disappointing to miss games. You feel like you've done everything right. It's just kind of our reality so hopefully we can just navigate it as best we possibly can."

Week 1 schedule

Times in EDT

Thursday

Cowboys at Buccaneers at 8:20 p.m.

Sunday

Seahawks at Colts at 1 p.m.

Jaguars at Texans at 1 p.m.

Eagles at Falcons at 1 p.m.

Chargers at Washington at 1 p.m.

Steelers at Bills at 1 p.m.

49ers at Lions at 1 p.m.

Vikings at Bengals at 1 p.m.