
During Monday Night Football on Disney-owned ESPN, there were multiple winners in the NFL playoff game.
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This week, ESPN’s Monday Night Football saw the Dallas Cowboys ravage the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31 to 14, in the NFL Wild Card game. But in addition to the victory, there were multiple records met and broken.
It was a night for armchair quarterbacks in Dallas and their Facebook-posting loved ones on Monday evening, when real-life quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Tom Brady went head-to-head as the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers met in the Sunshine State to battle it out for a playoff title and bragging rights that would pit the winners against the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday in Santa Clara, California, in the NFL Divisional Round.
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The Cowboys have been impressive this season, though Dak Prescott seems to have had an affinity for incomplete passes and turnovers. Were it not for his performance on Monday night’s game against Tampa Bay, during which he completed 25 out of 32 passes, Prescott could have easily fallen prey to the naysayers who grew weary of his incomplete passes–eleven over the preceding four games.
Instead, Cowboys fans in Dallas, in Tampa, and across the country stood to their feet to cheer as Dak’s passes netted gains of 305 yards and four touchdowns. He even added 24 yards to his rushing total, as one of Dallas’s touchdowns tapped the scoreboard as Prescott’s cleats tapdanced in the endzone. Four touchdowns and seven carries ultimately led the Cowboys to their first playoff game win this season.
Prescott tied the Cowboys’ single-game record (in the post-season) for passing touchdowns with former Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.
Dak Prescott is the third Cowboys quarterback to throw four touchdowns in a playoff game, joining Troy Aikman (vs. BUF, Super Bowl XXVII) and Roger Staubach (at LAR, 1/4/76).
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) January 17, 2023
That record was tied, thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown scored by the Cowboys after Prescott passed the ball to 24-year-old wide receiver–who was wide open at the time–CeeDee Lamb.
4th down? No sweat. 💿 TD!@dak 🤝 @_CeeDeeThree
📺: @espn | #DALvsTB pic.twitter.com/ZybizlfmJh
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) January 17, 2023
Monday night’s victory also saw another record broken by Dak Prescott, who had 11 consecutive passes, breaking the record of 10 consecutive passes, set by Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman during SuperBowl XXX.
Dak Prescott's 11 consecutive completions are a Cowboys postseason record.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 17, 2023
But the Dallas Cowboys weren’t the only ones breaking records on Monday night.
Front Office Sports reports that the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football this week drew 30.6 million viewers on Disney-owned ESPN. That makes Monday night’s game the most-watched NFL playoff game in ESPN’s history.
Bucs-Cowboys averaged 30.6 million viewers on ESPN, making it Disney's most-watched NFL playoff game ever. pic.twitter.com/DEaLr7OYW5
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 18, 2023
And in Texas, we don’t mind sharing, so we’re happy to celebrate the Cowboys’ victories, as well as ESPN’s!