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Tom Brady's Buccaneers will make NFL history with the Cowboys in Week 1 when the two teams meet in Dallas
Expect a lot of points on "Sunday Night Football"
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The Buccaneers and Cowboys will be making NFL history when they meet Sunday night in Dallas. The meeting between the two teams will mark the first time ever that the two highest-scoring teams from the previous season will have met in Week 1 of the following season.
Last year, the Cowboys led the NFL by scoring an average of 32.1 points per game, which put them slightly ahead of the Buccaneers, who had the second-highest scoring average at 30.1 points. Not only were they the two highest-scoring teams in 2021, but they finished way ahead of everyone else. No other team in the NFL even averaged 29 points per game.
Being one of the highest scoring teams is definitely a good thing because it almost always means you're going to end up in the playoffs. Over the past six years, 11 of the 12 teams that finished in the top two of average points scored ended up making the playoffs, and four of those 12 teams ended up making it to the Super Bowl.
With the two-highest scoring teams going at it this week, there's also a chance we could see the record broken for most combined points scored by two teams in Week 1. The current record is actually held by the Buccaneers, who beat the Saints, 48-40, during their opener in 2018. Over the course of NFL history, there have only been five games ever played in Week 1 where 80 or more points were scored.
The good news for the Buccaneers is that they have the most experienced Week 1 quarterback in NFL history. When Tom Brady takes the field Sunday, it will mark the 20th time he's started an NFL opener, which will break a tie with Drew Brees for the most ever. Although Brady is going into his 23rd season, he's only at 20 because he wasn't the Week 1 starter in 2000, 2001 or 2016 (suspension). If Brady throws for 256 yards or more, he'll also set the record for most career passing yards on opening weekend. Brady is currently at 5,311 and trails only Brees, who finished his career with 5,566 passing yards in season-opening games.
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