How the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Bucs 31-14 in the NFL playoffs

Star-Telegram sports editor Dave Ammenheuser’s live blog from the Dallas Cowboys’ 31-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL playoff game at Raymond James Stadium.

It’s the first time in eight tries the Cowboys have beaten Tom Brady.

The Cowboys (13-5) will travel to San Francisco where they will face the 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

All in-game comments, notes are in reverse chronological order (latest notes are atop the file).

Scoring plays

FIRST QUARTER

DAL: Dalton Schultz, 22-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Brett Maher kick fails). 6:28. Cowboys lead 6-0

SECOND QUARTER

DAL: Dak Prescott, 1-yard run (Brett Maher kick fails). 6:13. Cowboys lead 12-0.

DAL: Dalton Schultz, 11-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Brett Maher kick fails). 0:27. Cowboys lead 18-0.

THIRD QUARTER

DAL: Michael Gallup, 2-yard pass from Dak Prescot (Brett Maher kick fails). 10:04. Cowboys lead 24-0.

TB: Julio Jones, 30-yard pass from Tom Brady (pass failed). 0:00. Cowboys lead 24-6.

FOURTH QUARTER

DAL: CeeDee Lamb, 18-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Brett Maher kick). 10:13. Cowboys lead 31-6.

TB: Cameron Brate, 8-yard pass from Tom Brady (Mike Evans pass from Brady). 2:04. Cowboys lead 31-14.

Fourth quarter notes

DAL 10th possession, DAL 35: Cowboys kneel. Game over.

TB 11th possession, 50: Bucs successfully recover onside kick. 2:00 left. They advance to the DAL 35 before turning ball over on downs.

TB 10th possession, TB 48: Bucs put together an 11-play drive, scoring on a Tom Brady 8-yard pass to Cameron Brate. Brady’s pass to Evans for the two-point conversion makes the score 31-14.

DAL 9th possession, DAL 11: Cowboys go 3-and-out, punt.

TB 9th possession, TB 16: Against a soft Cowboys defense, Bucs move down the field to the DAL 2. However, a sack and an incomplete pass ends the drive. Turn ball over on downs. 6:20 left.

DAL 8th possession, DAL 35: Cowboys drive the field, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb. And Brett Maher makes the extra point! Cowboys lead 31-6 with 10:13 left.

Third quarter notes

TB 8th possession, TB 4: Bucs put together their best drive of the game, marching 96 yards, the last of it a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Julio Jones. Brady’s pass to Goodwin for the two-point conversion fails. Quarter ends, Cowboys lead 24-6.

DAL 7th possession, DAL 22: Drive stalls at the TB 47, forcing a Cowboys punt to the TB 4. 3:09 left in quarter.

TB 7th possession, TB 19: Bucs go nowhere, 8 plays, 10 yards. Punt to DAL 22. 8:09 left in quarter.

DAL 6th possession, DAL 20: (Jason Peters out with a hip injury). Cowboys march down the field, finishing with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Michael Gallup. Brett Maher misses another extra point (his fourth!), extending Cowboys lead to 24-0 with 10:47 left in the quarter.

TB 6h possession, TB 27: Bucs go 3-and-out immediately after halftime. Punt to DAL 20. Just 49 seconds used.

Second quarter notes

TB 5th possession, TB 25: Bucs go nowhere on final possession of the half. Cowboys lead 18-0.

DAL 5th possession, DAL 9: Cowboys march down the field and score on their third straight possession, another Dak Prescott to Dalton Schultz touchdown pass. This one for 11 yards. And Brett Maher misses his third extra point. Cowboys lead 18-0 with 27 seconds left in the half.

TB 4th possession, TB 25: Bucs pick up a first down, but drive stalls and TB punts to DAL 9. 3:32 left in the half.

DAL 4th possession, DAL 20: Cowboys score on back-to-back possessions, marching 80 yards. Biggest play is a 34-yard completion from Dak Prescott to Jake Ferguson. On fourth-and-1, Prescott runs for the touchdown. Brett Maher misses the extra point again (missed both tonight; missed three all season). Cowboys lead 12-0 with 6:13 left in the half.

TB 3rd possession continues, DAL 5: On second down, Jayron Kearse intercepts Tom Brady in the end zone, thwarting a serious TB scoring drive. 14:51 remaining in half. Bucs waste a 14-play, 70-yard drive. Brady’s first red zone interception since 2019.

First quarter notes

TB 3rd possession, TB 25: Bucs pick up their 1st first downd. Tom Brady moves the Bucs to the DAL 5-yard line on a first down as time expires in the quarter.

DAL 3rd possession, DAL 20: Cowboys put together the first solid drive of the game, picking up a few first downs and get a touchdown on a 22-yard pass from Dak Prescott to tight end Dalton Schultz. Brett Maher misses the extra point and the Cowboys lead 6-0 with 6:28 left in the quarter.

TB 2nd possession, TB 41: Four straight 3-and-outs. Bucs punt to end zone.

DAL 2nd possession, DAL 29: Another 3-and-out. Of the 9 offensive plays in the game so far, one has gained positive yards (a Tony Pollard short run). Punt to TB 31, returned to the TB 41. 11:20 left in quarter.

TB 1st possession, TB 35: Bucs also go 3-and-out. Punt to DAL 22, return to DAL 29. 13:35 left in quarter.

DAL 1st possession, DAL 25: Quick 3-and-out, 3 incomplete Dak Prescott passes. Punt, returned to TB 35.

Coin flip

Tampa won the coin flip. Bucs kick; Cowboys return opening kick-off.

Win and go to San Fran

The winner of tonight’s game will play at San Francisco on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the NFC semifinals; Top-seeded Philadelphia hosts the New York Giants in the other NFC semifinal on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.

The AFC semifinals pit top-seeded Kansas City against Jacksonville on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., then Buffalo hosts Cincinnati at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Inactives

COWBOYS

• QB Will Grier

• WR Jalen Tolbert

• DT Neville Gallimore

• DT Quinton Bohanna

• LB Jabril Cox

• CB Nahshon Wright

• CB Trayvon Mullen

BUCCANEERS

• QB Kyle Trask

• WR Breshad Perriman

• TE Kyle Rudolph

• G Nick Leverett

• S Keanu Neal

Pregame reads

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott faces critical game against Bucs.

Clarence Hill: Who has the edge in the Cowboys-Bucs game

Clarence Hill: What the Cowboys must do to beat the Bucs.

Mac Engel: Cowboys don’t need Super Bowl, but they do need two wins

Vodcast: Our video preview of tonight’s game.

Pregame predictions

Star-Telegram’s Lawrence Dow rounded up all of the pundits predictions for tonight’s game.

McCarthy future?

Dow also searched the social media for folks’ view on Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy’s future.