NFL playoffs: Julio Jones provides Bucs’ highlight

NFL playoffs: Julio Jones provides Bucs’ highlight

Dak Prescott led the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night to conclude the NFL’s Super Wild-Card Weekend.

It’s the other quarterback in the game who is likely to be the focus of the NFL, though, as football fans wonder if Tom Brady played his final game.

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But the 45-year-old signal-caller wasn’t the only Tampa Bay player with a Hall of Fame resume whose contract with the Buccaneers came to an end with the season-ending loss.

Former Foley High School and Alabama standout Julio Jones caught seven passes for 74 yards and one touchdown on Monday night. In his 12th NFL campaign, Jones’ top single-game numbers during the regular season were five receptions and 69 yards, and the wide receiver caught two touchdown passes.

On Monday night, Jones ran under a 30-yard pass from Brady for the Bucs’ first points of the game on the final play of the third quarter with the Cowboys leading 24-0.

With Monday night’s performance, Jones became the fourth player since the NFL/AFL merger to record 10 consecutive postseason games with at least 50 receiving yards.

Jones joined Julian Edelman, who had a 13-game streak for the New England Patriots, and Gary Clark and Jerry Rice, who had 10-game streaks for the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers, respectively.

At the end of the 2019 season, Jones had 12,125 receiving yards – more than any other NFL player through his first nine seasons. But over the past three campaigns – spent with three different teams — Jones has missed seven games each season because of injuries.

On Monday night, Prescott completed 25-of-33 passes for 305 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 24 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.

Prescott became the first Dallas player to be responsible for five touchdowns in a postseason game, and he joined Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan as the only players with four touchdown passes and one touchdown run in a single playoff contest.

If Brady’s career concluded on Monday night, then he almost bowed out with another record. The three-time NFL MVP and seven-time Super Bowl winner threw 66 passes, the second-most in postseason history behind Ben Roethlisberger’s 68 in a 48-37 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 10, 2021.

Brady completed 35 passes for 351 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

The Cowboys broke a seven-game losing streak in games with Brady as the opposing quarterback. Dallas also ended an eight-game losing streak in postseason road games, picking up its first playoff victory on its opponent’s home field since a 30-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 17, 1993.

In addition to Jones, six players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the Dallas-Tampa Bay game:

· Buccaneers inside linebacker K.J. Britt (Oxford, Auburn) made one tackle

· Carlton Davis (Auburn) started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Davis made three tackles.

· Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (Auburn) played but did not record any stats. Dean started 15 games during the regular season for Tampa Bay, but he has been dealing with a toe injury and illness leading into the game.

· Trevon Diggs (Alabama) started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made two tackles.

· Buccaneers defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) made two tackles and registered two quarterback hits.

· Cowboys defensive tackle Anthony Rush (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Buccaneers safety Nolan Turner (Vestavia Hills) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) played but did not record any stats.

Tampa Bay began and ended its season against Dallas. The Buccaneers beat the Cowboys 19-3 on Sept. 11 to kick off their 2022 campaign. Tampa Bay posted an 8-9 regular-season record while Dallas went 12-5. The Bucs played at home on Monday night because they won the NFC South title while the Cowboys were wild-card qualifiers.

In the Divisional Playoffs, Dallas visits the San Francisco 49ers at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday. FOX will televise the game.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) covers Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton during an NFL playoff game on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis (24) and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver T.Y. Hilton battle for the football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis (24) and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver T.Y. Hilton battle for the football during an NFL playoff game on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.(AP Photo/John Raoux)