Prescott helps Cowboys roll to wild-card win

Quarterback accounts for five touchdowns to steal show in what may be Brady’s finale.

TAMPA, Fla. — So much for the notion that Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys might not be up to the challenge of beating Tom Brady.

Prescott played his best game in weeks, throwing for four touchdowns and running for an additional score to answer critics of “America’s Team” with a 31-14 rout of Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wildcard playoff game Monday.

“It just shows he’s resilient,” Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons said. “The light’s different on Dak. I think the criticism is unfair and unjust sometimes.”

Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 305 yards and played turnover-free ball for the first time in eight games as the Cowboys dominated the listless Buccaneers in what might turn out to be Brady’s last game in a Tampa Bay uniform.

“Not the way we wanted to end it,” Brady said. “Kind of typical of the way we played all season.”

Dallas beat Brady for the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career and won in the postseason on the road for the first time in 30 years to earn a trip to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC divisional round Sunday.

The Cowboys had dropped eight straight playoff games away from home since winning the NFC championship game in San Francisco on Jan. 17, 1993.

They were also coming off a poor performance in a lopsided regular season-ending loss at Washington.

“Didn’t listen,” Prescott said of the talk about the Cowboys not being ready for the playoffs. “Simply just didn’t listen to anybody else’s opinions . ... Got a great supporting cast in my team, people that believe in me.”

About the only thing that went wrong for the Cowboys was kicker Brett Maher missing his first four extrapoint tries, becoming the first player in NFL history to miss that many in a game. Maher finally converted on his fifth attempt after coach Mike McCarthy decided against sending him out to try a field goal from roughly the same distance as a PAT.

Tampa Bay wide receiver Russell Gage was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field late in the fourth quarter. Gage slipped and fell to the turf while running a route and took a blow to the neck as he went down. He was unable to get to his feet, and silence fell over the stadium as medical personnel tended to him.

Coach Todd Bowles said Gage was taken to a hospital with a concussion and was being evaluated for a neck injury.

Brady, who signed with Tampa Bay in 2020 and led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title two years ago, will be a free agent this winter. He retired briefly last February before changing his mind and returning for a 23rd season at age 45.

Brady threw a careerhigh 66 passes, completing 35 for 351 yards. He had two touchdown throws.